Melbourne designer in viral “stolen art” saga says more sites have stocked copycat items

A Melbourne-based illustrator whose concerns over copycat designs went viral on Instagram says at least two other online platforms have stocked items that mimic her own work.

Kelsie Trainor is the founder of Kelsie Cosmic, an online store offering prints, scarves, phone cases, and other items festooned with her vibrant designs.

After spotting a festival-goer wearing a shirt emblazoned with a pattern eerily similar to one of her own designs, Trainor discovered online marketplace Temu was hosting copycat items without her permission.

An Instagram post detailing the discovery went viral and has now been seen by more than 2 million people. It has also served as a meeting point for other Australian artists frustrated by online imitations — and the difficulties of enforcing intellectual property protections.

SmartCompany understands the items in question are no longer listed for sale by Temu, which operates as a platform for third-party retailers.

However, Trainor shared an update on Monday, claiming she has discovered two more online marketplaces offering designs based on her own.

“Now I’m in the process of trying to find out who the original supplier is for them, and try to keep that line of communication open, which is obviously a very slow process,” she told her Instagram followers.

The Kelsie Cosmic webstore is now offering t-shirts emblazoned with the mushroom print she says has been copied by others, with funds going to legal advice.

“This process is not cheap, so any support is very much welcomed,” she said.

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A post shared by ✨ Kelsie Cosmic ✨ (@kelsiecosmic)

In her latest post, Trainor shared a screenshot of online marketplace LightInTheBox, displaying a men’s shirt and short set bearing a familiar mushroom print.

SmartCompany was unable to locate the precise LightInTheBox listing shared in Trainor’s video.

“LightInTheBox respects intellectual property, including but not limited to copyright, trademark, patent, design and business confidentiality,” the platform says in its intellectual property policies.

“If you believe that the products for sale on our Site infringes the intellectual property rights of yours or others’, you are welcome to assert your rights and/or file a complaint”.

“If you send a false notice of infringement, you may be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees),” the platform adds.

“Therefore, if you are not sure whether the material is infringing, please contact an attorney before submitting a notice to LightInTheBox.”

While Trainor and other small business founders have spoken up about individual designs have been copied, other Australian businesses say their entire brand has been replicated in an attempt to scam customers.

Major Australian brands including Gorman, Country Road, and Dotti are among those to say scammers have created fake online shopfronts under their name.

Factory X, the owner of Gorman, has “successfully shut down a number of domain names which have hosted scam websites,” a representative told SmartCompany in July.

The company “will continue to take urgent action where required to protect our valued customers,” they added.