ACID and BHETA Bolster their Commitment to IP with New Partnership!
September 9, 2025
In Summer 2024 I noticed that sales of one of my best-selling headband designs had slowed dramatically on Etsy. I did some initial research and discovered that several other Etsy shops were offering almost identical designs for sale… only for half the price than my design!
Over the coming months I collated evidence of this infringement through screenshots and links to their products. This evidence included the first dates of reviews for the items, public sales history (where available), plus product listing images and titles.
I also researched their social media accounts to identify whether these designs predated my own documented design and marketing timeline. They did not.
The materials, shape and form of my headband are quite unique. Knotted headbands have been a trend for a long time. However, before marketing my final design in March 2022, I did my due diligence research.
I was unable to find any existing designs online that matched both the shape/form and materials used to make my new headband design. I used keyword searches that covered all possible phrases that might be used to describe my product and the materials that they are made from.
Identifying the sellers was easy, however not all the sellers had shared their contact information publicly. This is a legal requirement for UK commerce businesses and a breach of Etsy’s policies – these state that sellers must follow local laws.
My first reaction to discovering this infringement was annoyance and resignation. Although over time this has grown into anger and frustration. It now manifests as defiance and a determined conviction that nobody, other than myself, should be able to exert this scale of impact on my business.
My design was not registered and I was very doubtful as to whether I had grounds for legally claiming the design as my own. Basically, I wrote it off, thinking that there was nothing that I could do anything about it.
I was resigned to just accepting this infringement as an inevitable consequence of having designed a fantastic product. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness” (Oscar Wilde).
I knew that the techniques used to make the headband were simple and the materials easily available. This was a conscious design decision on my part as I wanted a product that was quick and simple to make.
The design had gone through rigorous testing and I spent significant time and effort sourcing and sampling my chosen materials and packaging. These headbands had been designed to meet the specific circumstances of post-pandemic shopping and the plans that I had laid in place during the lockdowns – when I had all the time in the world for business development!
Summer 2022 was set to be THE summer of events. I needed to capitalise on it fully after the pandemic ravaged weddings, races and all large-scale events/parties in the two years prior.
Most importantly, my headband was designed to allow preparation of the various elements to be outsourced to my freelance helpers. I was solely responsible for the final assembly the components, which allowed me maximise sales by being able to offer “rush order” upgrades – an absolute must for the inevitable last-minute shoppers!
By removing these £12/hr tasks from my workload, it also allowed me to focus on the £20/hr tasks in my business – like strategy and planning for the year ahead.
Between March 2022 and July 2024, these headbands flew out of the studio, destined for customers around the globe. Selling a rate of one a day, this was by far my fastest selling design ever and completely unprecedented.
In the latter half of 2024, after discovering the initial infringement, the scale of the problem increased further. I discovered more cheap copies of my headband on Etsy and sales of my original design disappeared completely.
As all Etsy sellers know, the algorithm loves sellers who sell so a drop in my best sellers had a knock-on effect across all my products. Combined with the introduction of GPSR for EU sales, and starting legal action against one Etsy seller, this was a perfect storm.
The drop in sales last summer, my peak selling period due to weddings and events, meant that I was unable to keep my freelance staff on. It also meant that I had stop paying for additional freelance social media support.
Throughout Autumn 2024, I struggled to speak positively about my business. Without someone to pick up the slack with my marketing, it ground to a halt. With no social media or email marketing, which previously only promoted my own website, this meant a further decrease in my overall revenue.
Most crucially, I also had to half my own salary contributions from the business. This had a significant impact on my personal finances.
The emotional impact of having a business that was thriving, to one that was on the verge of collapse was intense and devastating.
By Christmas 2024 I was diagnosed with severe depression and in January I started job hunting for full time roles.
I knew that without my rented studio space I would need to sell up and close. This has never been an option.
I have sacrificed too much and worked too hard over the last 19 years to give up. I built my business from a hobby alongside full time work, so if this is the solution to save it – I will do it again.
My anger at this infringement is now being channelled into protecting my now legally declared design rights. Returning to full time work will bring the much needed financially security to make this possible.
It’s not where I thought my business would be 12 months ago.
It’s not where I want my business to be in 12 months’ time.
It’s not where my business will be in 24 months though!
For the purposes of my court claim, I calculated that I had lost £13,000 in revenue via Etsy between July 2024 and January 2025 on this design. I am steeling myself to update this figure for further legal action, although I estimate it to now be in the region of £15,000.
Sadly though, the true figure is unknown. I cannot evidence sales made by Etsy sellers via their own websites or other outlets. Unfortunately, nor can I evidence the direct impact these lost sales have had on Etsy’s algorithm and my sales of other products, especially during key periods e.g. Christmas 2024 and Summer 2025.
My Etsy sales have been weak throughout 2025 with July sales hitting their worst low since 2021 – this is only beaten by the Lockdown Summer of 2020.
The greatest damage to my brand reputation has been my own lack of confidence. My own inability to feel enthusiasm or confidence in sharing my work or thoughts on social media. This is partly because I’m still not in a truly healthy headspace. It’s hard not to allow negativity to infuse, something I’ve battled with whilst writing this!
I have certainly lost momentum and relationships with customers, both on social media and through my email list. This will be a priority once I have started employment, had my first payday and found some mental balance.
Dealing with this infringement has become somewhat paralysing and incredibly time consuming. Understanding the legal processes, collating and creating the necessary evidence for court, monitoring Etsy to identify new infringing products and the, sometimes overwhelming, fear of what will happen next.
However, this has been time well spent. Having successfully taken legal action against one Etsy seller, I have learnt so much. This knowledge and familiarity with the process will now make taking future action simpler – I’ve done a lot of the heavy lifting already.
The damages and legal costs that I was awarded by IPEC will be used to fund future action. I had to fund this action using my personal finances, so my salary from full time employment will be used to repay both my personal savings and debts.
I know that I will never recoup the revenue from the lost sales, or even potential missed sales. I accept this and recognise that I will probably never “make” any money out of this situation.
It has now become a matter of principle that I challenge this underhand activity. I have ignored infringement in the past but now I am armed with a much greater understanding of my rights, I feel much more empowered to challenge it.
I have posted on social media about the infringement I have suffered. I have aimed to keep it educational, such as highlighting the impact of copying in general and sharing my test purchases of infringing products. However, I did publicly name the defendant in my IPEC claim after the case was made public record.
I need to crack on and add the ACID logo my website as well as a blog about my membership and the amazing support ACID have provided. I have been somewhat distracted since I became a member in January 2025, so this is long overdue!
My total legal/court costs from October 2024 to date are now in the region of £4600. This will increase due to ongoing action.
These costs can be split into 3 distinct categories:
The cost of the Letters Before Action in October/November for sellers 1 and 2 was approximately £1500.
My total court fees were £674, however £123 was wasted on default judgement fee. The defendant’s defence statement was not uploaded to the filing system until after the deadline had passed, despite being received 3 weeks prior. Sadly, this fee was non-refundable.
Whilst the cost of legal advice has been significant, I now have a repository of questions and answers that I can refer to, both pre-empting and reducing potential future queries. I have also gained the confidence and knowledge to submit my own report via Etsy’s IP reporting portal – albeit with mixed success.
Claim filed in April 2025 at IPEC against Etsy Seller 2
Hearing date June 2025 – No defence evidence received by the court or me and the defendant did not attend the online hearing.
Court Order and Judgement awarded in June 2025 declaring my unregistered design rights and damages/costs awarded (£5000 damages and £1024 in costs).
The Etsy IP reporting portal is painful, confusing, non-sensical and that’s before speaking to their support team! Etsy’s support emails are infuriating, dismissive, lack transparency and are utterly unhelpful
In the IPEC judgement, the Judge criticised Etsy’s IP reporting processes, their determination of UK design rights and how these rights are upheld.
Etsy Seller 1 – Multiple reports made via the IP reporting portal by my solicitors – final report upheld
The shop closed in Oct/Nov 2024 after a Letter Before Action letter was sent to the Etsy Legal team direct.
No seller contact details were displayed publicly so it could not be emailed or posted direct to the seller.
Etsy Seller 2
Multiple reports made via the IP reporting portal by my solicitors – all rejected
Etsy removed 60 items after I shared the IPEC claim form in April 2025.
Additional items were reported and rejected by Etsy in April – although removed by the seller after the court order was issued.
Further items were reported and removed by Etsy in July 2025 – I reported these when the deadline to comply with the Judge’s order had passed.
At time of writing, Etsy is refusing to accept the IPEC court order in relation to the removal of advertising materials for the infringing items – those reported in April and removed by the seller in July.
Etsy is the only party that can remove the images linked to reviews of the infringing items, therefore the defendant has not and cannot comply with the court order.
Sellers 3-6 – No seller contact details displayed as required under UK law, but crucially, no sales of the infringing items.
Letters Before Action are not cost effective in these circumstances, so I have reported these items via the Etsy IP Reporting portal myself.
All my reports have been rejected and at time of writing, Etsy is refusing to accept the IPEC court order as evidence of my unregistered design rights to these infringing items.
In addition, my requests to investigate further legal and Etsy policy breaches by these sellers have been ignored/rejected by Etsy.
Sellers 7-9 – Significant sales of infringing items through both Etsy and their own websites.
At time of writing, I am awaiting advice/action from solicitors regarding Letters Before Action letters for these sellers.
Sales by these sellers are ongoing and at high volume so my losses further escalate due to this infringement.
ACID has truly been a lifeline in this battle to protect my rights. I can hand on heart say that without their support, knowledge, expertise and cheerleading, I would never have had the confidence to stand up for myself. Thank you so much!!!
I am so very grateful for this support, as I know so many makers/creatives never tackle their copycats… and I completely appreciate why!
The fear/threat of losing, the cost, the time and the sheer mental load is terrifying. But that is what the copycats rely on and it’s why, time and time again, they get away with this lazy approach to making money – at our expense!
I have lodged some of my designs in the ACID IP Databank and it is my intention to add more. Sadly, all my best-selling designs were created too long ago to register with the IPO, so this is an incredibly helpful resource.
I am also resolute in supporting ACID in their work to support creatives like me. If my experiences have taught me anything, sharing knowledge and demystifying the processes of IP protection is key.
There is strength in numbers, and ACID provides a vital umbrella network to support a vast range of businesses, of all sizes. I welcome this collective power and find strength in it – a lone voice can easily be ignored but the roar of a crowd is difficult to silence.
This might have been one of the biggest challenges that I have ever faced in my life, however the alternative was to give up, sell up and forever regret the way in which the demise of my 19-year-old business had come to pass.
I refuse to give anybody the power to dictate the future of my business in this way. These people have not earned the right to influence these decisions, let alone to copy my work.
I do acknowledge that I have found myself in a privileged position, especially in having the means to fund legal action. I also have professional skills, from my past career, which have made this process less scary. Most crucially though, I have had the ability to seek alternative employment and pivot my entire life to fit around this drastic action.
I am hopeful that after a year or so of stability; to reset my finances and my overheated brain, I will be able to return to full time millinery. I’m confident that with breathing space I can fall back in love with my passion and thrive once again. This will just be a pause, not a goodbye.
I’d like Etsy to seriously review the way in which they handle IP reporting in general. I’m not convinced their “staff emails” aren’t just bots!
Should there ever be the opportunity to get them in a room in the same way that there has been with Temu, I will be there!
If you’d like to support integrity in the design industry, sign the ACID IP Charter to add your name to hundreds who believe in respect, ethics and compliance in design.
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