Small businesses are finding AI copies of their photos and patterns

Two recent stories show how AI is being used to copy the work of small creative businesses. Etsy changed its rules on AI in listings on 22 October after criticism from its sellers, and on 5 November ABC News Breakfast reported that the skincare brand BodyBlendz has been accused of using AI-edited versions of photos shot for smaller competitors.

Etsy's new rules

Etsy emailed sellers and published the changes online. Most listings now need at least one unedited photo of the actual item against a real background, Retail Dive reports. Some digital items, like audio files, can still use representative images, including AI ones, as long as they don't mislead buyers.

Other editing, including with AI, is still allowed if it doesn't make the item look different. The ABC reports that if what the buyer gets is "materially different" from the photos, the seller may have to refund them.

Functional guides like recipes and crochet patterns can't be AI-generated any more, and they need a photo of a real result. AI-made art such as prints is still allowed when the seller plays a clear creative role and is open about how it was made. Etsy has also added a way to report misleading AI images, but it says those reports are to help it understand the problem and won't lead to immediate enforcement.

The changes haven't stopped the copying. Hobart crochet artist Lucy Cooper told the ABC she found another Etsy store selling an AI version of her spiral beanie pattern, with all eight product images AI-generated. It went up on 28 October, six days after the announcement. "It's good that they're actually doing something, but I think that it's a little bit of a laugh," she said.

Etsy says the changes are "our starting point, not the finish line".

The BodyBlendz case

Sydney photographer Lucy Alcorn told ABC News Breakfast that several images on BodyBlendz's Instagram account were copied, possibly with AI, from a shoot she did for another skincare brand, Luna Bronze. She said they were 70 to 80 per cent her original image. Luna Bronze co-founder Maddy Balderson said a single shoot could cost the brand $30,000 to $50,000.

The founder of UK brand Stil Suncare, Tash Hagan, also accused BodyBlendz of using images like her own. After she spoke up on social media, BodyBlendz removed that post and several others. In a private Instagram message to her friend, the brand's team said it had been unaware and was sorry. BodyBlendz didn't respond to the ABC's requests for comment.

Neither woman took legal action, saying it would cost too much for what they might get back. Ms Alcorn wants a small claims court for cases like this, and a University of Melbourne law academic told the ABC simpler ways to enforce those rights would help.

What it means for businesses here

If you sell on Etsy, check that each listing has an unedited photo of the real item, and that any patterns or guides are your own work.

If you pay for your own product photos, there's nothing new to do yet. A spokesperson for Attorney-General Michelle Rowland told the ABC the government is still consulting creators, media organisations and AI companies on options for copyright, so it's worth watching what comes out of that.