Someone copied my Etsy listing or design: what to do

Work out which right has been copied

What you can do depends on what was taken:

• Photos, illustrations, patterns and written descriptions: protected by copyright from the moment you create them, with no registration needed in the UK.
• Your shop or brand name: strongest if you've registered it as a trade mark. Without a registration, you may be able to rely on passing off if you've built up goodwill under the name.
• The look or shape of a product: unregistered design rights can protect some designs for a limited time; registered designs give stronger protection.
• A general idea or style: usually not protected on its own. Someone making a similar product in their own way isn't necessarily infringing.

Collect evidence before you report

Listings change and disappear, so capture everything first: screenshots with the date and URL visible, the listing and shop links, and your originals showing when you made or first published them (file dates, earlier listing links, social posts). Keep a simple record of what you found and when.

Report it to Etsy

Etsy's IP infringement report is for rights owners and their authorised agents. You'll identify the right being infringed, link to the listings, and confirm a good-faith statement and that your report is accurate. Etsy removes listings it accepts and tells the seller, who may be able to respond with a counter notice. Repeated valid reports can lead to a seller's shop being suspended.

If you're not the rights owner but you've spotted counterfeits or something else that breaks Etsy's rules, use Etsy's general report option on the listing instead.

Consider contacting the seller

Sometimes a polite message or a short cease and desist letter is enough, especially if the seller didn't realise. Be factual: what's yours, where they're using it, and what you want them to stop doing by when. Don't make threats you don't intend to follow through.

Make it harder next time

• Register your shop name as a UK trade mark in the classes you sell in.
• Keep dated originals of your designs and photos.
• Watermark or style your photos so copies are easy to spot.
• Monitor marketplaces for your name and close variations rather than waiting for customers to tell you.

How Infringement Ninja helps

Infringement Ninja's web search looks for marketplace listings that use your shop name or something close to it, including misspellings and spaced-out versions, and writes the text for Etsy's IP report from the evidence. You can also paste a link to a listing you've spotted and see whose rights it may break and who can report it.