What to do if someone steals your product photos

Open the listing and compare the photographs at a useful size. Look for details specific to your photograph: the same fold in a backdrop, reflection in a glaze, shadow beneath a handle or placement of a prop. Write down those observations. A similar product or familiar colour palette is a different issue from reuse of the same photograph.

Check your own records before treating the use as unauthorised. Is this a stockist, an affiliate or a previous collaboration? Did a supplier distribute the same photograph to several shops? If you commissioned the shoot, check the agreement with the photographer rather than assuming payment settled every right. Ask whoever manages wholesale or licensing relationships to check too.

In the UK, original photography can receive copyright protection automatically. That general rule does not establish who owns a particular photograph or whether a particular use is permitted. If those points are disputed, get advice before making a formal claim.

Create one folder or case for the listing. Save an unedited screenshot that includes the photograph and enough page context to identify the item. Copy the actual product-page URL separately; a screenshot of a search result or the shop’s homepage is much harder to act on.

Keep your original source file safe. You can make a separate comparison image for clarity, but retain the originals alongside it. A date in your notes records when you observed the page; it does not establish when the other seller first published it.

Your own shop being on Shopify does not mean Shopify can remove content from another platform. Identify where the other listing is hosted. Start with its footer, terms and official platform information; a familiar checkout design alone is not enough to establish the host.

For an identifiable business, a concise private message can ask about permission and request removal. Include both URLs and the specific photograph. You can use our editable request template. Contacting a seller is a practical option, not a guarantee that they will reply or cooperate.

For content hosted on Shopify, its copyright-reporting guidance directs rights holders to an online form. It requires the specific reported page links, details identifying the original work, contact information and the required declarations. Read the full requirements before submitting. Shopify says the notice, including contact information, may be shared with the person reported.

For an Etsy listing, follow the Etsy-specific guide below. For other hosts or marketplaces, use that service’s current official intellectual-property process. Keep a copy of whatever you submit and any confirmation reference.

Hypothetical example: you sell a handmade blue mug. Another shop’s listing shows a blue mug too. That alone tells you little. On closer inspection, its image has the same tea stain on the saucer and the same torn corner of the paper background as your original photograph.

Your note could read: ‘The main listing image appears to use our photograph, cropped on the right. The saucer stain and torn background match. No stockist permission found in our records.’ That gives a reviewer something concrete to compare. Avoid guessing how many items the seller sold or claiming that every product in their catalogue is copied.

Record the date, recipient, route and exact message you sent. When you check again, note whether the photo disappeared, the listing changed, the page became unavailable or nothing changed. Save a new dated screenshot where useful. ‘Page unavailable when checked’ is more precise than ‘case won’.

Keep any permission explanation with the case. A seller may identify a distributor or licence you need to investigate. If you receive a legal counter notice or a substantive dispute about ownership, seek qualified advice rather than escalating with a stronger template.

For ongoing checks, Copywatch imports selected products from a public Shopify catalogue and runs recurring visual and product-name searches. You review possible matches and can keep useful leads, notes and outreach together. Search coverage is incomplete, and a match is a starting point for review.

You should be able to answer each of these before making a formal report. If one is uncertain, record that uncertainty and resolve it first.