Someone Might Be Selling Your Design Right Now (Here's the 5-Minute Check)

About this video

Prompted by a viral video from a small 3D-printing channel, The Idea Garage, in which a maker found their own design for sale on Amazon by a stranger, RJ runs a five-minute theft check on his own designs. The check is three searches per design: (1) Google Lens using the flat PNG design file, not a mockup, to find visually similar listings anywhere; (2) Amazon, searching the exact words on the shirt in quotes; and (3) Etsy, same quoted phrase sorted by newest. His own clean designs returned nothing, which he calls the good outcome, and he advises doing this monthly for your top 10 sellers. If you find a copy, he points to Etsy’s IP reporting portal and Amazon’s report infringement page, and says you need three proofs ready beforehand: the original file with creation date in metadata, your listing’s first publish date, and a screenshot of the copy with URL and date visible. He notes copyright applies on creation without registration, cites about $45 to register one design with the US Copyright Office, and stresses he is not a lawyer. He closes with habits — an originals folder, a small signature mark, a monthly check, and a ‘copies’ log — and warnings not to file on generic phrases or lookalikes that are competition, not theft.

Key takeaways

• Run a monthly three-search check per top design: Google Lens on the flat PNG, plus exact-phrase searches in quotes on Amazon and on Etsy sorted by newest.
• Copies are most likely for bestsellers — scrapers can pull, upscale and relist a design on Amazon in an afternoon.
• Keep three proofs ready: the original file with creation-date metadata, your first publish date, and a dated screenshot of the copy with its URL.
• Report copies through Etsy’s IP reporting portal or Amazon’s report infringement page; he says copyright exists on creation without registration.
• Do not file on generic phrases or independently made lookalikes — platforms punish false claims, and competition is not theft.

Episode details: published October 10, 2026 · 7:13 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are RJ Martinez’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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