Activewear fashion label owner Cassey Ho recently discovered a counterfeit version of her skort being sold on Amazon, with her face swapped out for someone else’s in the product video. Counterfeiting has long been a problem in the fashion industry, but new advances in AI technology are making the issue even more prevalent. Some believe that Chinese fashion firms, such as Shein, are profiting off of IP theft through the use of artificial intelligence algorithms.
Ho’s experience with the counterfeit skort is just one example of the growing trend of knockoffs being sold by deepfaked versions of their designers. Analysts suggest that copying a person’s likeness adds another layer of complexity to the issue, impacting both brand safety and personal safety. After Forbes alerted Amazon to the counterfeit listings, the company took action to remove them, emphasizing their commitment to prohibiting counterfeit and IP infringing products on their platform.
The fight against counterfeits has become a significant challenge for Ho, with instances of theft not only involving her designs but also her own marketing materials. Beyond monitoring potentially infringing items and sending cease-and-desist letters, dealing with stolen videos and images raises additional legal concerns around the right of publicity. Experts warn that AI technology may exacerbate this issue, with spammers using popular videos from platforms like TikTok to promote counterfeit products without consent.
Ho, who is actively working on patenting her designs to protect against imitators, acknowledges the difficulty of allocating resources to fighting counterfeiters while also focusing on innovation. While exploring automated detection solutions like Outtake AI and IPShark, the high cost of these tools remains a barrier. As the fashion industry grapples with the challenges posed by counterfeiters leveraging AI technology, designers like Ho are seeking ways to safeguard their creations and intellectual property rights in an increasingly digital marketplace.
