AuctionBytes Blog Covering auctions, collectibles and marketplace selling.
The AuctionBytes Blog has been giving a voice to online merchants since its launch in 2005. Named one of the world's top 30 blogs in 2008 by "Blogging Heroes." Weigh in with your thoughts on the joys and pitfalls of selling online.
Etsy AI tools meant to help sellers have sometimes gotten them into trouble by guiding them to use IP-infringing words in their tags and titles, according to a reader who told EcommerceBytes: "Etsy is pushing AI to write titles of items for sellers, but they are including IP infringement words in their rewrites that can get your shop shut down."
The reader experienced this when they briefly tested Etsy's recommended tags that included brand names Disney and Pokemon, and they pointed to a Reddit thread where sellers are discussing the same issue with Etsy's AI title-generator. "The most annoying part is if you don't change your titles the visibility warning stays forever, and even when you uncheck the titles, Etsy will not accept that you don't want it," they added.
A Reddit user with the handle cassandra0611 wrote the following warning to other Etsy sellers on Tuesday, January 20th:
"I just learned the hard way to not listen to the platform's new AI title suggestions. I knew to avoid touching many of my best sellers because it messes with the rankings, but when it suggested that I change my "Graffiti Art" wearables to be "Basquiat-Style" I figured huh, well why not, if that helps my search rankings, and made the dumb mistake of assuming that because Etsy's platform was suggesting to change it to this, that it was legally appropriate.
"Fast forward, I just got 3 policy violations, a letter from the Basquiat legal team, and all my listings were removed. The best part- THIS IS NOT IP INFRINGING WORK. These all feature my own art work. There's no IP infringement other than the stupid new title that Etsy's system recommend I rename my listing to.
"The worst part - Etsy seller support won't do anything to address an issue that Etsy caused. They told me to reach out to their legal team to dispute, or read their help center articles. So the issue was caused by following Etsy guidance, and all of a sudden the burden is on me as a seller to deal with legal teams in hopes that they'll take pity on a micro-business and restore my listings. USE ETSY TITLE RECOMMENDATIONS WITH CAUTION!!"
Another Etsy seller replied said it was the responsibility of sellers to check and verify that everything that AI suggests is appropriate and asserted that AI would have no way of knowing what is trademarked.
In a September 2, 2025 Seller Handbook article, Etsy introduced the AI-powered title generator, but does not appear to have made any specific disclaimer about checking the title for potential trademark violations. Under the section, "Some helpful things to keep in mind," the article states the following:
- Before you make any updates, download a CSV of your listings. You can use it to reference keywords from your original titles and update your tags, descriptions, or attributes as needed.
- Make sure you’re running the latest version of the Etsy Seller app to easily update your listing titles on the go.
Etsy published the following 16-second video on YouTube showing the AI title-generator tool in action:
These sellers have more to worry about than titles or descriptions.
What about their photos?
The IP owner can request that the listing be removed solely on the basis of the listing photos containing trademarked or copyrighted protected IP. This can include brand names; product names; catch phrases; any graphics or text on the product, its packaging, manual and other content. Manufacturers often use custom fonts which require their own license to use. Publishing photos containing any of this IP is not allowed without their permission.
Sellers could also be sued for trademark and copyright infringement.
Etsy, eBay, Amazon resellers are lucky that most IP owners do not enforce their rights in regards to unauthorized resellers otherwise these markets would be tanked.
AB Verify login is required to post comments on the Blogs and EKG. To sign in to leave a comment, fill in the form below. If you have not yet signed up for AB Verify, or if you'd like more information, go to the Registration Page.
Posting comments in the News Section requires SEPARATE REGISTRATION.
The AuctionBytes Blog has been giving a voice to online merchants since its launch in 2005. Named one of the world's top 30 blogs in 2008 by "Blogging Heroes." Weigh in with your thoughts on the joys and pitfalls of selling online.
Etsy AI Tool Can Get Sellers in IP Trouble