Intellectual Property Policy
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Intellectual property at a glance
- Our content: the Shift Pride name, logo, site text and original designs belong to Shiftpride or its licensors.
- Your rights: buying a product lets you own and wear or use it, not copy the design.
- Others’ rights: we do not use real employer, agency, hospital, school, union or brand logos, insignia or characters.
- Report a concern: [email protected], subject “IP Report”; acknowledged within 1 business day.
- Copyright notices follow our DMCA process.
1. Why this policy exists
Profession apparel sits close to many real names and symbols. Hospitals, school districts, fire departments, police agencies, unions, trucking companies, restaurant chains and software brands all have logos and trademarks, and many professions have official badges, patches or insignia. Shift Pride celebrates the work itself, not any particular employer or agency, and this policy explains the lines we draw and how rights holders can reach us if they think we got something wrong.
This page covers trademarks, copyright, design rights, rights of publicity and similar rights. For the formal copyright takedown and counter-notice procedure under US law, see our DMCA page.
2. What belongs to Shift Pride
Unless stated otherwise, the following are owned by or licensed to Shiftpride: the Shift Pride name and logo (the badge with a clock whose hands form a check mark), the website design and layout, page text including these policies, product descriptions, and the original artwork printed on our products. You may not copy, reproduce, modify, distribute, sell or create derivative works from them without our written permission.
You are welcome to link to our pages, share product links, and post photos of yourself, your crew or your gift recipients wearing or using Shift Pride products. Please do not present yourself as Shift Pride, use our logo in a way that suggests a partnership or endorsement, or copy our designs onto other products.
3. What buying a product allows
When you buy a tee, hoodie, sweatshirt or mug, you own that physical item and may use, wear, gift or resell that specific item. The purchase does not transfer any rights in the design itself. Printing the design on other items, selling copies, or uploading it to another print-on-demand marketplace is not permitted.
4. Respecting others’ rights: our design rules
Every design we publish must follow these rules:
- No real logos or insignia: no hospital, health system, school district, university, fire department, police or sheriff agency, military branch, government agency, union, airline, trucking company, restaurant or technology brand logos, seals, patches, badges or crests.
- No official-looking credentials: no designs that could be mistaken for an official uniform, rank insignia, licence or ID, and nothing that suggests the wearer holds a qualification they may not have.
- No licensed characters or franchises: no cartoon, film, game, sports team or celebrity references that require a licence we do not hold.
- No real people: no names, faces or likenesses of real people, living or deceased, without permission.
- No copied artwork or photos: artwork is created for Shift Pride or licensed; reference images are not traced or copied.
- Common workplace language is fine: everyday job words and phrases, used in original designs, are part of what makes profession apparel fun.
Products in development are checked against these rules before publication. If a product slips through, we want to know.
5. How to report an infringement concern
If you believe a product or page on shiftpride.com infringes your trademark, design right, right of publicity or other intellectual property right, please email [email protected] with the subject line “IP Report” and include:
- Your name, the organisation you represent (if any), your postal address, telephone number and email address.
- A description of the right you own, with a registration number and country for registered trademarks or designs, or a description of an unregistered right.
- The full URL of each product or page you are concerned about.
- An explanation of why you believe the material infringes your right.
- A statement that the information is accurate and that you are the rights owner or authorised to act for the owner.
- Your signature (a typed full name in an email is accepted).
Copyright complaints should follow the more detailed requirements on our DMCA page so that we can act under the law’s procedure.
6. What we do with a report
| Step | What happens | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|
| Acknowledge | We confirm we received your report | Within 1 business day |
| Review | We check the report is complete and compare the product with the right described | Usually within 2 business days |
| Act | If the concern appears valid, we unpublish the product and stop printing the design | Promptly after review |
| Inform | We tell you what we did, and tell the designer or partner where relevant | Same day as action |
| Follow-up | We respond to any further information or dispute from either side | As needed |
If we disagree with a report, for example because the design uses only generic job vocabulary, we explain our reasons and remain open to further discussion. We never ignore a report.
7. Customer orders after a takedown
If a product is removed after you ordered it but before it was printed, we cancel that item and refund it in full within 7 calendar days, and offer an alternative design if you would like one. Items already delivered are not recalled.
8. Designers and partners
Any designer or partner who supplies artwork to Shift Pride must confirm they created the work or hold the rights to license it, and that it follows the design rules in section 4. Repeated valid complaints end the relationship. We keep records of where each design came from so that we can answer questions about it.
9. Personalisation
If we offer personalised products in the future, any text or image you supply must be yours or used with permission, and must not include protected logos or insignia. We may refuse or cancel personalised orders that appear to infringe, with a full refund.
10. Use of our name and logo by others
If you see a website, social media account or marketplace listing using the Shift Pride name or logo, or claiming to be us, and it is not shiftpride.com, please tell us. We have no affiliated stores, resellers or marketplaces. Do not enter payment details on a site claiming to be us unless the address bar shows shiftpride.com.
11. No endorsement
References to professions, trades, workplaces and job titles on our site and products are descriptive. They do not mean that any employer, agency, professional body, union or licensing board endorses or is associated with Shift Pride.
12. Examples by profession
These examples show how our design rules apply in practice to the trades we serve.
Nurses and healthcare
Allowed: original illustrations of stethoscopes, hearts, coffee cups and night-shift jokes; generic job titles such as “nurse” or “CNA”. Not allowed: the name or logo of any hospital or health system, a professional association’s emblem, or anything presented as an official badge or credential.
Firefighters and first responders
Allowed: original artwork of hoses, helmets, engines and dispatch radios drawn in our own style; phrases about the job. Not allowed: real department patches, the Maltese cross arranged as an official departmental emblem with a real department name, agency seals, or any design that looks like a uniform shirt from a real agency.
Teachers and education
Allowed: apples, pencils, chalkboards and classroom humour. Not allowed: school district, university or mascot logos, or characters from children’s books and shows that are owned by publishers or studios.
Trades, drivers, chefs and office crews
Allowed: tools, trucks, knives, keyboards and job slang in original artwork. Not allowed: tool, vehicle, restaurant or software brand names and logos, union emblems, or company liveries.
13. If you are a customer with a concern
If you bought a product and later worry that it uses someone else’s mark, tell us. We will review it, and if we remove the design, you may still return the item within 60 days of delivery for a full refund under our Returns & Exchanges Policy, even if you have worn it, because the problem would be ours.
14. Good-faith reports only
Please send a report only when you genuinely believe a right you own or represent is being infringed. Reports that are knowingly false can harm the people who created the designs and can carry legal consequences. If you are unsure whether you have a claim, independent legal advice is the best next step.
15. Frequently asked questions
Can I order a shirt with my hospital’s or department’s logo?
No. We do not print employer, agency, school or union logos, even when the customer works there, because we cannot verify permission and those organisations control how their marks are used. Ask your employer’s uniform or merchandise office for official items.
Can I use a photo of your shirt on my social media?
Yes, please do. Photos of you or your crew wearing Shift Pride are welcome. Tagging us is optional.
Can I resell Shift Pride products?
You may resell an individual item you bought, like any second-hand garment. You may not reproduce our designs or present yourself as an authorised reseller; we do not have any.
I found a site selling your designs. What should I do?
Send us the link. We will look into it and contact the platform if our designs are being copied.
Are slogans like “night shift” trademarked?
Generally, common workplace phrases are not owned by anyone, but some phrases are registered for certain goods. We check new designs before publishing and respond to any report from a registered owner.
How long do you keep records of reports?
We keep each report, our review notes and the action taken for at least 3 years, so that we can answer follow-up questions and recognise repeated problems with the same design or supplier.
16. Contact
Email [email protected] or write to Shiftpride, 311 Florida Street, Knoxville, TN 37915, United States. Related pages: Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Contact Us.