Another ebay seller using my photos for a custom item

[difficult2find]

I make custom 3D printed brackets for IT gear of my own design. Let's be clear there are other people printing the same stuff and selling on ebay BUT they are lifting designs off the internet, there are some key differences in the design vs other people's versions.

One of those other people has changed their scruffy looking product photos and have used mine, undercutting my price by nearly 50% for which I know is an inferior design. Is there anything I can do about this?

One of my thoughts is to actually buy one and when it arrives INAD it as looking completely different but I don't want to go into the realms of being that petty. Equally I believe ebay gives them the right to use my photos which in this instance I think is a misrepresentation of the product.

Does anyone have any advice?

[gemini-project]

You can report them for copying your photos under intellectual infringement, you own the rights to your own photos.

[messier44000 · Accepted solution]

Putting something in the description mentioning you are selling the 

exact product as shown on the photo. So if the rival/s who,s product may 

be slightly different may get pulled up by their buyer for not as described.

Let their buyers do this, not you.

As part of the printing, engrave your own logo into the design.

Watermark the image. Though this may cause different opinions as to 

whether you can or can not. 

If you do re-photograph with watermark, use a bright white background if possible.

Your products are black / grey, so this would help them stand out more.

[kidmore_kats]

From the eBay user agreement

What should I do if my image, video or text is being used by another seller?

When you create listings you give eBay and its customers permission, through our User Agreement, to use your images, videos and product details. Your content may be added to the eBay product catalogue, and may be used by other sellers in their eBay listings.

You may contact the seller and ask them to remove your image or text if it is not part of the eBay product catalogue.

I'm not sure how you can tell if your image is part of the eBay product catalogue

[difficult2find]

Thanks for your answers! I messaged the seller, he initially replied with a very abrupt "This is not your photo". When I told him I had done as ebay suggest and asked nicely and that I would request they remove the photo with the evidence he didn't reply but has removed the photo.

I will watermark my product photos in future by putting my ebay name into the product, I don't mind fair competition but there was nothing fair about that.

[technthread]

Apparently you can’t watermark but just look at a category such as packaging supplies, many of the biggest sellers do it without any problems.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/listing-policies/picture-policy?id=4370

[cyclingjason090]

3d print your logo and place it somewhere in the photo ( it's not a watermark that way)

[suelel1968]

That is what i would do. I have bought stuff with the wrong pictures used, its annoying to buyers, let alone to you. 

[difficult2find]

Yeah, I planned on re-doing my photos anyway so now I will print a special logo into all of them.

[fatbobfan]

Have seen a few posts over the years on this subject and have been 'copied' in the past and this is probably the most successful forum reply I've seen.

Will add, polite, informative and with success,

Bravo

[difficult2find]

To my mind if you're selling a tube of toothpaste that everyone else is selling then it's fair game. It's still a little bit irritating if you make such good photos of that tube of toothpaste that all the lazy ones copy it but at least you'll get what you see. 

Having a custom designed product offered for other people to use as their product photo doesn't work in this instance. It's like advertising a Skoda for sale with a picture of a Jaguar, they're both cars that you can drive but that's about as far as you can take the comparison and you'd be pretty disappointed to receive a Skoda! My mind is made that I need to include my logo in a way that it cannot easily be "AI'd" out of the product picture without it looking like they'll receive a logo'd product from me.

[the-nutwood-collection]

As the item is the OP's (presumably) unique design, can someone with more knowledge than me advise whether the OP can assert IP rights under the VeRO programme?

The Help text is silent on the criteria for joining the programme - for example, must participants have a patent or registered trademark - but participants can report 'Unauthorized use of a rights owner’s images or text in a listing' which is what is happening here.

[strangestash]

I had this happen to me and the ebay IP report didn't work, even when escalted, even though I created documents categorically proving all the product photography was bespoke and shot by myself and just 1:1 copied. Really frustrating. Don't feel protected at all. No point watermarking or otherwise because software and AI can so easily remove it these days.