Can You Sell Labubu Dupes on Etsy? Pop Mart Trademark, Trade Dress & Copyright Rules (2026)

Labubu is the hottest collectible on the internet, and where a toy goes viral, Etsy dupes follow. Search the platform and you'll find "Labubu-inspired" plushies, crochet versions, keychain charms, resin figures, 3D-printed lookalikes, and listings that lean hard on the word "Lafufu" — the nickname the internet gave to fake Labubus. If you're thinking about listing any of these, understand the landscape first: Pop Mart, the company behind Labubu, has moved from issuing marketplace takedowns to filing federal lawsuits, and U.S. Customs is now seizing counterfeits by the tens of thousands.

This guide breaks down exactly what protects Labubu under U.S. law, which listings get pulled, and the narrow paths that are actually legal. It's written for sellers who want to stay in business, not lose a shop over a $15 figure.

The short answer: Selling toys that copy the Labubu look — the pointed ears, nine-tooth grin, oversized head, and mischievous face — risks trade dress and copyright infringement. Using "Labubu," "Lafufu," or the "The Monsters" name in your titles or tags to move an unlicensed product is trademark infringement. There are a few legal lanes, but "dupe" is not one of them.

Who actually owns Labubu

Labubu was created by Hong Kong–based artist Kasing Lung as part of his illustrated series "The Monsters," inspired by Nordic folklore. In 2019, Lung partnered with Pop Mart, a Chinese collectibles company, to turn the character into a blind-box toy line. The toys exploded in popularity in 2024, driven largely by TikTok, and Pop Mart's stock soared roughly 200% through 2025.

That ownership matters for one reason: Pop Mart now has both the money and the motivation to protect the brand aggressively. When a product goes from niche to global sensation, the rights holder stops ignoring small infringers and starts building an enforcement program. Pop Mart has done exactly that.

What legally protects Labubu

Sellers often assume a knock-off is fine as long as they don't literally print the brand name on it. That's a costly misunderstanding. Labubu is protected by three overlapping bodies of law, and you can infringe any one of them independently.

Trademark

Pop Mart owns U.S. federal trademark registrations for the LABUBU word mark and the THE MONSTERS composite mark. A registered word mark means you cannot use "Labubu" in your listing title, tags, description, or shop name to sell a product Pop Mart didn't make or license. This is the single most common way sellers get caught, because they add the brand name specifically to capture search traffic — which is exactly what trademark law prohibits when it creates a likelihood of consumer confusion.

Importantly, "Lafufu" doesn't save you. Using a well-known dupe nickname to signal "this is a fake Labubu" can still support a trademark and unfair-competition claim, because you're trading on the recognition and goodwill of the original mark.

Trade dress

Trade dress protects the overall look and feel of a product when that appearance identifies its source. Labubu's signature features — the pointed elf-like ears, the toothy nine-tooth grin, the oversized head, wide-set eyes, and impish expression — arguably combine into a recognizable aesthetic tied to the brand.

Trade dress is where dupe sellers get a false sense of security, because courts don't analyze it feature by feature. As the Central District of California explained in the closely related Squishmallows litigation (Kelly Toys Holdings, LLC v. Build-A-Bear Workshop), the test is "the overall visual impression that the combination and arrangement of those elements create," not whether any single element is generic. A plush or figure that reproduces Labubu's total look can infringe even if you changed the color or tweaked one detail. For more on how this works with plush toys, see our guide on selling Squishmallow dupes on Etsy.

Copyright

This is the trap most 3D-print and craft sellers miss. Pop Mart holds U.S. copyright registrations for the original Labubu artwork and sculptural designs, including the dolls themselves, the blind boxes, and the packaging bags. A copyright on the sculpt means that reproducing the figure — by 3D printing, resin casting, sewing a close plush replica, or copying the character art onto a sticker or shirt — is copyright infringement regardless of whether you ever mention the word "Labubu."

Pop Mart has already won on this theory. A Chinese court ruled in its favor against sellers of 3D-printed Labubu duplicates, finding the copies violated copyright law. U.S. copyright protection for the character art works the same way.

What's actually happening to infringers

This isn't theoretical enforcement. In 2025 the situation escalated sharply on three fronts.

Lawsuits. In July 2025, Pop Mart filed a trademark infringement suit against 7-Eleven Inc. and several California franchisees in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleging stores sold counterfeit Labubus using nearly identical trademarks, trade dress, and packaging. The complaint asserted 17 causes of action — including trademark counterfeiting, trade dress infringement, and unfair competition — backed by undercover-purchase receipts, photos, and video. In September 2025 the court granted Pop Mart a temporary restraining order, finding it was likely to prevail. If Pop Mart will sue a chain the size of 7-Eleven, a small Etsy shop is not too small to target.

Customs seizures. Counterfeit Labubus (the "Lafufus") are being intercepted at the border. In September 2025, Customs and Border Protection seized over 11,000 counterfeit Labubu collectibles worth more than $500,000 at the Seattle airport in a single bust. If you're importing blank or finished lookalike figures to resell, that inventory can be seized and destroyed.

Safety recalls. In August 2025 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued an urgent warning that lookalike Labubu dolls pose a choking hazard, and other agencies flagged toxic materials. That means a dupe isn't just an IP problem — it can trigger product-safety liability, especially since these toys appeal to children. If you sell plush or small-parts toys, review our guide on toy safety and small-parts compliance before listing anything.

What gets your Etsy listing pulled

Pop Mart uses the same marketplace takedown infrastructure every major brand uses. Expect a listing to be removed — and repeated violations to threaten your whole shop — if it does any of the following:

Using "Labubu," "Lafufu," "Pop Mart," or "The Monsters" in the title, tags, or description of an unlicensed product. Selling a 3D-printed, resin, or cast figure that reproduces the Labubu sculpt. Selling a plush that copies the overall Labubu look, even if you call it "monster elf plush." Putting Labubu character art on stickers, shirts, mugs, or prints. Selling clothing, shoes, or accessories made for Labubu figures that use the brand name to be found. Listing photos that show a real Labubu to sell a knock-off.

Etsy operates a repeat-infringer policy, so each strike compounds. Enough of them and the shop is closed regardless of your sales history. If you've already received a notice, read how to respond to an Etsy trademark violation notice before you reply to anything.

What you can legally sell

There are legitimate lanes here — they're just narrower than sellers want them to be.

Genuinely original monster/elf designs. You can design and sell your own plush or figures with a distinct look that doesn't copy Labubu's specific combination of features. Pointed ears and a toothy smile are not owned by anyone in the abstract; a design that reproduces Labubu's overall impression is. Make yours clearly its own character, with its own name, and don't reference Labubu anywhere in the listing.

Reselling authentic Labubu you bought. Under the first-sale doctrine, you can generally resell genuine Labubu figures you legitimately purchased — this is how a lot of the collectible secondary market works. The catch: the item must be authentic (not a Lafufu), and you can't imply an affiliation with Pop Mart. See our full explainer on reselling authentic branded items and the first-sale doctrine.

Compatible accessories described generically. A carrier, outfit, or display stand you designed can be sold if you describe it by function ("elf plush carrier bag," "vinyl figure display case") without using the Labubu trademark to fish for search traffic. The moment you write "fits Labubu" as a keyword play, you're back in trademark territory — nominative fair use is narrow and easy to overstep.

How to protect yourself before you list

Before publishing any product that lives anywhere near a trending character, do three things. First, check the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database and Etsy itself for the brand's registered marks so you know what's protected — our walkthrough on checking a trademark before selling on Etsy shows how. Second, ask honestly whether a buyer could think your item is official or licensed; if the answer is maybe, redesign it. Third, keep your own listings free of every brand keyword, and monitor your shop for takedown notices so one strike doesn't quietly become three.

The uncomfortable truth about riding a viral toy is that the window where "everyone's doing it" feels safe is exactly the window when the rights holder is building its enforcement case. Pop Mart's net worth swung by billions on Labubu demand — they are not going to let dupe sellers erode the brand quietly.

ShieldMyShop scans your Etsy listings for trademark, trade dress, and copyright risks like these before a brand's enforcement team — or Etsy's takedown bots — find them first. Start a free trial and check your shop against the brands most likely to file a complaint.