Skincare brand accused of using AI to copy competitors' imagery

Internationally stocked skincare brand BodyBlendz has been accused of using AI-edited advertising imagery produced by its small business competitors.

A Sydney photographer says there needs to be fewer financial barriers to pursuing claims against brands that use others' imagery.

Australia is building what it hopes will be a world-leading national framework for AI regulation.

An ABC News Breakfast investigation has unearthed multiple accusations the internationally-stocked brand BodyBlendz — which was once promoted by reality star Kim Kardashian on Instagram — has used imagery made for other brands without their consent.

One of its accusers, Sydney-based photographer Lucy Alcorn, believes the case demonstrates Australia needs stronger guardrails to protect creatives against a deluge of AI-generated content.

"My whole body of work that's online suddenly feels so vulnerable. What would stop anyone else from doing that? It's very scary," Ms Alcorn said.

Ms Alcorn alleges several promotional images that appeared on BodyBlendz's Instagram account had been copied from images she shot for another skincare brand, Luna Bronze, possibly using AI.

"Especially, the model's face has been shifted," she said.

"You can see that it's 70 to 80 per cent my original image. I don't think it would be worth the retoucher's time to do that."

Luna Bronze co-founder Maddy Balderson told ABC News Breakfast that a single shoot could cost the brand $30,000 to $50,000 — a large investment the small business had to carve out every year.

"It's not just the dollars we spend on the shoot; it's the time. They've skipped making that investment, that creative time."

The company has since removed the images. BodyBlendz has not responded to multiple requests for comment from ABC News Breakfast.

A UK sunscreen brand has also accused BodyBlendz of using images similar to its own, while an Australian reality TV star has claimed BodyBlendz used their picture without consent.

In a statement, Stil Suncare founder Tash Hagan said she was "genuinely mind-blown", and particularly thrown by the fact BodyBlendz's social media post appeared to include an AI-generated face with an uncanny resemblance to her own.

After Ms Hagan voiced her concerns publicly on social media, BodyBlendz removed the post and several others, including the post allegedly copying Ms Alcorn's work.

She said the brand never publicly responded.

But after her friend sent BodyBlendz a private message on Instagram, the brand's team responded, saying they had been unaware and were "genuinely sorry imagery from your friend's original post appears to have been used".

The message also said the brand respected the work that had gone into creating the original content and would speak to its marketing team to prevent it happening again.

BodyBlendz has previously been accused of using an image of Married At First Sight participant Martha Kalifatidis without her consent in a stockist's 2019 advertising brochure.

ABC News Breakfast has contacted Ms Kalifatidis for comment.

Neither Ms Alcorn nor Ms Hagan pursued legal action against the brand, saying the costs involved were too high compared with any potential compensation.

Ms Alcorn said Australia needed a small claims court to deal with similar cases, brought on by the surge in AI-generated content.

University of Melbourne Associate Professor of Law Jason Bosland agreed the legal system would benefit from introducing small claims courts.

"With a range of different courses of action, such as copyright and even defamation, it would be good to have simplified mechanisms by which those rights could be enforced," he said.

Australia is attempting to position itself as a world leader in artificial intelligence safeguards, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese planning to tackle copyright issues via a national framework.

However, a leaked proposal has sparked concerns the government is considering changes to Australia's copyright laws.

A spokesperson for Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said the government was "continuing to consult with creators, media organisations and AI companies on a range of options to ensure any future copyright changes deliver meaningful control and fair compensation".

Luna Bronze co-founder Ms Balderson said she was also worried about the potential for AI-generated imagery to mislead beauty consumers.

"If you can stand behind your product and it does what you say it does, then you should be able to use real models," she said.

But Ms Alcorn is most concerned about AI being used to side-step human creativity.

"Every shoot is a whole team effort … You have people working on the prep, the design, then once you're on set you're working on the model, makeup artists, hair, stylists, set designers, the whole team. And then even after that you've got all of the post — crew who work on bringing the images to their absolute best.

"Even with retouching, a real human is using their creativity and their thought process to make something beautiful and artistic.

"[AI is] kind of a slap in the face to our whole industry."