What To Do If Someone Copies Your Product Photos

Someone copied my product photos - what can I do?

If you have just found your images on another business' website, marketplace listing or social media page, the good news is you usually have practical options to get them removed and, in some cases, ask for payment.

Product photos take time, money and creative effort. They can also be a big part of what makes your online store feel trustworthy. So when another seller lifts them, it can feel personal as well as commercial.

The first few steps matter. If you gather the right proof, check who owns the copyright and send the right kind of takedown request, you'll usually be in a much stronger position.

What Should You Do First If Someone Copied Your Product Photos?

First, preserve evidence before you contact them. If the other business knows you have noticed, they may remove the images quickly, which can make it harder to prove what happened later.

Take a calm, methodical approach. You aren't overreacting by documenting it properly. You're protecting your business.

Evidence To Save Straight Away

• Screenshots of the copied photos on their website, marketplace listing, ad, email campaign or social media account.
• The full page URL or listing details, including the seller name, business name, ABN if shown and platform username.
• Date and time records for each screenshot. If possible, use a device setting that shows the date and time on the screen.
• Your original files, such as RAW files, high-resolution exports, edit history, file names and metadata.
• Your publication records, such as when you first uploaded the photos to your site, product catalogue or social media account.
• Commercial impact, if you can show it, such as lost sales, customer confusion, undercut pricing or paid ads using your image.

Say you run an online candle store in Melbourne. You paid for a weekend shoot and launched 20 new product photos on 1 March. Two weeks later, a competitor uses 8 of those photos in marketplace listings and sells similar candles at a lower price. Your screenshots, original files, photographer invoice and first upload records all help show the photos are yours and that their use may have affected your business.

Try not to post publicly accusing the other business straight away. A private, evidence-backed approach is usually cleaner and more effective.

Do You Own Copyright In Your Product Photos?

You own copyright if you took the photos yourself, your employee took them as part of their job, or the photographer assigned the copyright to your business in writing. If you hired an external photographer without a written assignment, you may only have a licence to use the images.

In Australia, product photos are usually protected as artistic works under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). You don't need to register copyright in Australia. Copyright exists automatically when the photo is created, as long as it's original enough and recorded in material form.

The tricky part is ownership.

Common Ownership Scenarios

• You took the photos yourself: you'll usually own the copyright personally, or through your business if your company owns the relevant assets and there are proper records.
• Your employee took the photos: your business will usually own copyright if the photos were created in the course of their employment.
• A contractor or freelancer took the photos: the photographer usually owns copyright unless there's a written assignment transferring it to you.
• An agency arranged the shoot: you need to check the agency contract. It may give you a licence, an assignment, or rights with limits on use.
• You bought stock images: you don't own copyright. You only have the rights set out in the stock image licence.

This matters because a copyright takedown request is strongest when it comes from the copyright owner or someone authorised to act for them.

If your photographer owns the copyright but gave you broad usage rights, you may still be able to act. You might need the photographer to confirm in writing that you can send takedown requests or enforcement letters on their behalf.

For new shoots, ask for a clear written assignment or copyright licence agreement before you use the photos commercially. A one-line invoice saying photo shoot is often not enough to avoid arguments later.

Can You Send A Copyright Takedown Notice In Australia?

Yes, you can usually send a copyright takedown notice to the website owner, marketplace, social media platform, hosting provider or search platform. Australia doesn't use the exact same DMCA system as the United States, but many major platforms use copyright reporting processes that work in a similar way.

A takedown notice is a practical request to remove or disable access to infringing material. For online sellers, this is often the fastest first move.

Who you send it to depends on where the copied photos appear.

Where To Send Your Request

• The business using the photos: this can work if they're legitimate and responsive, but it can also tip them off before the platform acts.
• An ecommerce marketplace: most marketplaces have IP complaint forms for copyright, trade marks and counterfeit listings.
• A social media platform: platforms usually have copyright forms where you identify the original work and the copied post or ad.
• A website host: if the business ignores you, the host may be able to disable access to the copied content.
• A search engine: in some cases, copied image pages can be removed from search results even if the original page remains live.

For Australian copyright purposes, your request should clearly identify the original photos, where the copies appear and why you say the use is unauthorised.

Be accurate. False or exaggerated claims can backfire, especially if the other business has a licence, uses stock images from the same source, or has created a similar photo independently. Product photography can sometimes look similar, particularly for plain white background shots, so focus on details that show copying, such as identical lighting, crop, props, background marks or file artefacts.

What Should A Takedown Letter Say?

A takedown letter should clearly explain what has been copied, why you own or control the rights, what you want removed, and what deadline you expect. Keep it firm, factual and polite.

You don't need to write an aggressive letter or lengthy copyright disclaimer to be taken seriously. In many cases, a clear lawyer-drafted notice gets better results because it gives the other side fewer distractions.

Takedown Letter Outline

Here is a fill-in outline you can use to organise your thoughts. A lawyer should tailor it before you send it, especially if you're also asking for compensation.

1. Your details: state your business name, ABN or ACN if relevant, contact person and email address.
2. The photos: identify the product photos, when they were created and where they were first published.
3. Your rights: explain whether you took the photos, your employee took them, or the rights were assigned or licensed to you.
4. The infringement: list the exact URLs, listings, ads or posts where the copied photos appear.
5. What you want: ask them to remove the photos, stop using them and confirm removal in writing.
6. Deadline: give a clear timeframe, such as 48 hours for online removal where the copying is obvious.
7. Compensation or licence fee: if appropriate, set out what payment you're seeking and how you calculated it.
8. Reservation of rights: state that you reserve your rights to take further steps if the issue isn't resolved.

If the copying is on a platform, the platform form may ask you to make declarations about ownership and good faith belief. Read them carefully. You're usually confirming that the information is accurate.

Avoid including threats you aren't prepared to follow through on. A practical letter might say that if the photos aren't removed by the deadline, you may escalate the matter to the relevant platform, hosting provider or seek legal advice about further action.

Can You Ask For Compensation If A Business Used Your Photos?

Yes, you can ask for compensation, but the amount depends on the facts. There's no automatic fixed payment for copied product photos in Australia.

Under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), possible remedies for copyright infringement can include damages, an account of profits, injunctions and additional damages in serious cases. In a business-to-business dispute, though, many matters are resolved before court through removal, undertakings and a negotiated payment.

What you can sensibly ask for may depend on:

• how many photos were copied
• how long they were used
• whether they were used on a website, marketplace listing, paid ad, catalogue or email campaign
• whether the other business made sales using the images
• what you paid to create the photos
• what you would usually charge to license similar photos
• whether the use caused customer confusion or brand damage
• whether the copying appears deliberate

A Worked Example

Mia sells handmade jewellery online. She paid a photographer $1,500 for a product shoot and received a written copyright assignment. Another seller copied 10 of the photos and used them in 10 marketplace listings for 6 weeks.

Mia gathers her original files, the signed assignment, screenshots of each listing and dates showing when the listings were live. Instead of guessing a random number, she calculates a proposed settlement based on a reasonable licence fee for 10 commercial product images, plus the cost and time spent dealing with the issue. She also asks for immediate removal and written confirmation that the photos won't be used again.

The outcome will still depend on the other seller's response and the strength of the evidence, but Mia's position is much stronger because she can prove ownership, copying and a rational basis for the amount requested.

If the other business refuses to engage or the amount is significant, it's worth getting a copyright consult before escalating. Once a dispute becomes formal, the strategy matters as much as the legal rights.

How Can You Stop This Happening Again?

You can't completely stop people from copying online images, but you can make copying easier to prove and harder to justify. Good records and clear contracts are your best defence.

Start with your photo shoot paperwork. If you're paying a freelancer, agency or studio, decide upfront whether you need full copyright ownership, an IP licence or a licence that's broad enough for your business.

Documents And Systems That Help

• Photography agreement: set out who owns copyright, what files will be delivered, how the photos can be used and whether the photographer can use them in a portfolio.
• IP assignment: transfer copyright to your business in writing if full ownership is intended.
• Website terms and conditions: tell visitors that your images, copy and branding can't be reproduced without permission.
• Marketplace brand records: keep your business name, trade marks and image ownership records ready for platform complaints.
• Internal file system: keep original files, shoot dates, invoices, model or location releases and publishing dates in one place.
• Watermarks or low-resolution previews: use these where they fit your brand, especially for lookbooks, portfolios or wholesale catalogues.

Trade marks can also help, but they protect different things. A registered trade mark can protect your brand name, logo or distinctive product branding through IP Australia. It won't usually protect the photo itself. Copyright is the main right for the image.

The Australian Consumer Law can also be relevant if the copied photos mislead customers into thinking the other business is connected with you, selling your exact products, or authorised by you. That's a separate angle from copyright and often needs tailored advice.

For creative and ecommerce businesses, the aim isn't to make your processes complicated. It's to make sure your rights are clear from day one, so if someone copies you later, you aren't scrambling for proof.

Key Takeaways

• Product photos are usually protected by copyright automatically under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).
• Before contacting the other business, save screenshots, URLs, dates, original files and proof of when you first used the photos.
• Check ownership carefully. If a contractor took the photos, you may need a written assignment or authority from the photographer.
• A copyright takedown notice can be sent to the business, marketplace, social media platform, website host or search platform.
• You can ask for compensation, but the amount should be based on evidence such as licence value, duration of use and commercial impact.
• Clear photography agreements, IP assignments and good record-keeping make future copying disputes much easier to handle.

If you'd like help with checking who owns your product photos, sending a copyright takedown letter, protecting your image rights or preparing photography agreements for future shoots, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.