0:00 -eBay's Vero program and I'm doing a takedown notice at the moment reporting one listing that's using my images to sell their products which are in competition with my products.
0:09 -How can end users like your customers tell the difference between the quality product that you're selling and some cheap knockoff product when the cheap knockoff product is using your image of your product that you took yourself with your camera to sell their knockoff products or their cheap products or their inferior products or their copy products or their copyright infringing products.
0:34 -Like how frustrating is it that this happens?
0:36 -I don't know if you've used the eBay interface now, the Vero interface.
0:41 -It used to be done by emails and it would take it a long time, like about six weeks to get a takedown notice, but this is actually happening quite fast.
0:46 -I added a takedown in like the same day last week.
0:51 -A couple of the takes downs that I did, I found there was a business here using my image here, this orange van, that's my image that was taken outside my work place to sell their products.
1:04 -And this one is not a Chinese listing.
1:07 -Apparently, it's a made in Britain listing.
1:12 -This might be a Chinese one.
1:12 -I took a few screen grabs of the different people using my image.
1:16 -This orange one, the small round hole on this one.
1:18 -This whole big van, that's outside my unit.
1:23 -Apparently, UK stock um sale.
1:28 -And that's my image.
1:28 -That's my image on our website taken outside our unit.
1:30 -And these are other listings using my image to sell their products.
1:36 -So, I've done some successful takedowns last week um where we did get rid of the product listings or we got rid of the image from there.
1:52 -Seems like the listing is still active now, but at least they're not using my picture to sell their product.
1:58 -Onto the eBay Vero thing.
2:02 -I've already got I've selected the images that are on the listing.
2:07 -I've already filled out a report.
2:13 -So, I think this is good to go to select.
2:15 -If I go to edit the report, I can show you that I'm selecting what's the intellectual property protected uh sorry where so United Kingdom country United Kingdom registration number for the image.
2:28 -We don't need it in the UK.
2:30 -The cameraman basically you get automatic copyright protection when you take the picture.
2:34 -You as the cameraman get the copyright protection or the business owning the you know paying the photographer by assignment of rights.
2:43 -But you automatically get it.
2:43 -So, I don't need to put that in.
2:44 -I just put not applicable.
2:46 -It's UK copyright is automatic and it's um unregistered.
2:48 -So, that's it.
2:52 -I've put a link to my website showing that image in the gallery on the website um which is clear for them to see.
3:02 -They can follow that link.
3:02 -I just drop that in the web browser there.
3:08 -And you can see that image clearly on my website of that van.
3:13 -And you can sort of skip through the other images on the gallery album there.
3:18 -It's clearly my image, that van, all the tree, all the reflections in the image are so so recognizable.
3:26 -Like you see all this like reflections of the tree, reflections of the building.
3:31 -They have cropped it in the way that they've been using it, but it's clearly my image.
3:35 -So, if I carry on there with my take down notice describing the details of the copyright.
3:44 -So, I've gone in here.
3:44 -I'm actually been using um chat uh GPT for helping me with this.
3:49 -It's actually really useful and um you know, I'm telling it what I'm trying to do.
3:54 -I'm putting in, uh, the image source of where the image come from on my website.
3:59 -I'm putting the infringing list in and it's writing me a report.
4:04 -So, I'm using that report and then I'm basically copying that and pasting that in on the eBay takedown notice.
4:09 -Um, then I'm also getting the um message to the seller which I'm going to put in through the eBay report as well to let them know that although this is a take down from eBay, this does not mean that they are cleared from um using the responsibility that they've used my image that I could actually carry on and take legal proceedings directly towards them separately as well.
4:31 -But for the moment, it's just a case of getting this listing.
4:36 -So that's the message to the seller which has gone in into there as well.
4:41 -And then a link to where the product is again, where the image is again on my website.
4:46 -So confirm.
4:50 -So it's okay to um to submit because I've done the report and then I've clicked on here and I've selected the specific images that are infringing it.
5:03 -So, it means I'm good to go.
5:03 -Okay.
5:03 -To submit.
5:10 -Hang on.
5:10 -Let's tick it.
5:10 -Tick and submit.
5:14 -Make declaration.
5:22 -Confirm.
5:25 -And that's it.
5:25 -Done.
5:25 -So, the whole thing is very frustrating and this might take I mean hopefully this only takes a day or a couple of days to actually get this take down notice done to get the um seller to or get the listing removed and then the seller will have to remove those images from it.
5:41 -Um it might pop up again, but it was really bad before when it's 6 weeks for the take down and then they pop up a new listing and then it takes six weeks to get that listing done.
5:52 -Um I did have some success actually going after some of the Chinese listings.
5:56 -And what I would also do is a cease and desist letter, but I feel like, yeah, the Chinese are probably not going to take notice doing a cease and desist letter directly to the Chinese.
6:08 -But actually, what I did was I found their EU representative on the eBay listing.
6:13 -And I did the cease and desist to their Chinese's European representative.
6:18 -And it turned out actually they couldn't take down the listing quick enough when they found that it was infringing um design rights that I have when I have a design registered of my product and there was a Chinese company ripping it off.
6:29 -They were copying my instruction manual.
6:31 -They had copied the product.
6:32 -They got my words, my images, my hands in their instruction manual.
6:36 -Absolutely shocking.
6:38 -Like the behavior of it is just absolutely um ridiculous.
6:39 -And it's and it's um it's so difficult.
6:43 -You know, if you're a UK business doing good stuff, you're making quality products, you're putting all the time and effort into the research and development, and then you've got all these people like just ripping off your designs, ripping off your products, ripping off your images to sell what are they, ripped off um their products, which are ripping off your design is like absolutely absolutely frustrating.
7:05 -This is our product, Sussex Installations.
7:07 -That's our orange picture and that's the orange van.
7:13 -Our picture with our product being used and that's our listing and we've got the made in Britain logo which we're authorized to use.
7:20 -We've also got additional parts like our stealth trap which is included in the listing and this is all quality in-house made and I design this stuff like with perfection for all the studs to be in exact place so it's like easy uh for the installer to fit.
7:36 -We make all the instructions which are step by step which is make it so so easy to fit like in comparison and it's not for another company to go and rip off all my hard work for all our hard work as a business for the quality products that we manufacture here and stick them online using our images and in some cases using my instruction manual with my words and my pictures even saying this instruction and is the copyright and belongs to Sussex Installation Team Limited and they're writing that leaving it there and I've bought that off of eBay in the past.
8:16 -It's just absolutely ridiculous.
8:19 -So, if you guys are up against it as well, if you're fighting um against people copying your products, um if you're fighting against people using your images, violating your copyright um for your images, whether it's your intellectual property in terms of your design rights, or whether it's your patents, um or your trademarks, like I wish you good luck because right now in the UK, it's difficult to do a good job with all these people like being able to rip you off like apparently been able to rip you off and you having to work so hard to try and stop that.
8:52 -Very very frustrating.
8:54 -Um but um I have found uh chat GPT is actually very helpful and very useful in doing cease and desist.
9:04 -You as the business owner can do a cease and desist yourself.
9:07 -You don't actually need a lawyer to do the cease and desist.
9:10 -You can do it yourself.
9:10 -Um you can do the takedown notices but it will take your time.
9:14 -Um, and then obviously if you are going to go and pursue it in court, it will cost you money as well, but hopefully you have a good case and you can win your money back and you can put a stop to someone else um, ripping you off.
9:26 -Um, drop any of your tips in the comments below.
9:29 -Um, yeah, if you've got any tips on how to protect your intellectual property, if you're going through any experience yourself as a as a UK seller with people uh copying your products, using your images, using your intellectual property um in competition with you, um, drop your comments down below.
9:48 -Tell us your story.
9:48 -Tell us what's what you've been going through.
9:52 -Tell [snorts] us your tips if you've got any of how to um how to overcome it.
9:54 -And I wish you all the luck.
9:58 -Uh hopefully the system will change more in our favor and we can get some support um from our government to try and stop this from happening and make it easier for people in UK doing good business.
10:10 -If you're looking for quality van security products, don't take the risk.
10:14 -Don't take the gamble depending looking at different images online because there's a good chance they might not be images of the actual product that you're buying.
10:23 -So if you're looking for van security, come to us directly.
10:27 -It's sussexinstallations.co.uk.
10:29 -We are the van security specialist and we'll be the one to give you great quality products and great quality advice.
10:34 -Last thing to say, thanks for watching.
Transcript source: the YouTube auto-generated transcript supplied for this project, re-grouped into sentences with minor corrections (e.g. a misheard word). Automated transcripts can contain recognition errors and should be checked against the original video.
