Episode Number:

70

April 27, 2026

In this episode of The eCom Growth Show, Danan Coleman interviews Alan Li, Co-founder of CopyCatch.AI, to explore how eCommerce brands can fight back against copycats, protect their intellectual property, and recover stolen revenue from infringers on Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and other marketplaces.

Alan shares how knockoffs nearly destroyed one of his brands, how he later collected over $100K through IP enforcement, and why Schedule A lawsuits may be one of the most overlooked growth levers available to small and mid-sized eCommerce sellers.

Meet Alan: The Founder Helping Brands Catch Copycats

Alan is the Co-founder of CopyCatch.AI, an IP enforcement service built to help eCommerce brands permanently remove copycats and collect settlements from infringers across major marketplaces.

Before launching CopyCatch, Alan was an eCommerce operator himself. He built and scaled multiple brands, including a jewelry brand that reached $7 million in annual revenue and a plant-inspired home goods brand that went viral during COVID.

But both businesses taught him the same painful lesson: once a product succeeds online, copycats move fast.

  • His jewelry brand was once offered a $10 million acquisition deal.
  • After competitors copied the concept, the brand eventually sold for far less.
  • His home goods brand later faced hundreds of duplicate listings across Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Temu, and other platforms.
  • That experience pushed Alan to take IP enforcement seriously and build a smarter way for eCommerce brands to fight back.
Hard Lesson: Success online makes you visible. And visibility attracts copycats.

Why Copycats Are More Dangerous Than Most Sellers Realize

Alan explains that today’s eCommerce environment makes copying easier than ever.

Competitors can use spy tools, sales signals, ad data, viral content, and AI to quickly identify winning products and replicate them.

For eCommerce brands, this creates several major problems:

  • Copycats undercut pricing and steal market share.
  • Infringers reuse product images, designs, and brand messaging.
  • Knockoff listings can appear across multiple marketplaces at once.
  • Amazon and other platforms often have little incentive to remove high-performing listings.
  • Brand owners lose both revenue and control over their customer experience.

In Alan’s case, copycats were not just stealing designs, they were even copying brand claims, including sustainability messaging.

Big Idea: Copycats do not just steal products. They steal momentum, trust, and future enterprise value.

DMCA Takedowns: Why They May Not Be Enough

Danan and Alan discuss the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, which allows creators and rights holders to submit takedown notices when their protected content is used without permission.

But Alan warns that DMCA takedowns can become a weak move when used incorrectly.

  • Platforms may ignore or delay responses.
  • Infringers can simply edit the listing and keep selling.
  • A takedown does not recover lost revenue.
  • It may alert the copycat before you have preserved strong evidence.
  • Once the infringing element is removed, your legal case can become harder to prove.

Alan’s view is that sellers should be careful before firing off takedown requests too quickly.

Strategic Warning: Don’t alert the infringer before you have the evidence, IP protection, and legal strategy ready.

IP Enforcement as a Hidden Growth Channel

One of Alan’s strongest points is that IP enforcement should not only be viewed as legal defense. It can also become a growth channel.

After Alan began permanently removing infringing listings for his succulent pillow brand, Amazon sales doubled.

Why?

Because the copycats were no longer siphoning demand from the original brand.

  • Removing infringers can restore lost sales.
  • Settlements can create direct cash recovery.
  • Strong IP protection builds a stronger brand moat.
  • Repeat offenders can face stronger consequences through settlement agreements.
  • Licensing opportunities may open up once infringers are forced to negotiate.

Alan also points out that settlement money has no cost of goods attached to it. For small eCommerce operators, that can create meaningful cash flow..

Key Move: Protecting your IP is not just about stopping theft. It can directly improve your P&L.

What Is a Schedule A Lawsuit?

Alan explains that Schedule A lawsuits allow brand owners to group multiple infringers into one case.

This matters because many eCommerce copycats operate across multiple seller accounts and platforms, often from overseas.

A Schedule A case can allow attorneys to:

  • Group many defendants together.
  • Seek a temporary restraining order.
  • Ask marketplaces to freeze seller funds.
  • Request sales reports tied to infringing ASINs or listings.
  • Push infringers toward settlements.
  • Permanently stop repeat violations through settlement agreements.

Alan used this strategy with his own brand and collected more than $100,000 over the course of roughly 12 months.

Plain-English Takeaway: Instead of chasing one copycat at a time, Schedule A lawsuits can help brands go after many infringers in one coordinated legal action.

Why Evidence Matters Before You Take Action

Alan emphasizes that eCommerce sellers need to think carefully before taking action against infringers.

If a seller submits a DMCA complaint too early, the infringer may remove the obvious violation and continue selling in a more subtle way.

That is why evidence capture is critical.

  • Screenshot infringing listings.
  • Preserve product images, titles, descriptions, and claims.
  • Track seller names, platforms, ASINs, and URLs.
  • Document similarities between your original IP and the copycat listing.
  • Make sure evidence is court-ready before escalating.

CopyCatch.AI was built partly to solve this manual burden. Alan says the platform uses AI to help research infringers, compile evidence, estimate sales impact, and prepare reports that attorneys can use.

Smart Play: Don’t just report copycats. Build the strongest possible case before they know you’re coming.

Copyright, Trademark, and Trade Dress: What Sellers Should Understand

Alan breaks down an important distinction: eCommerce sellers are creating intellectual property constantly, even if they do not always realize it.

That may include:

  • Product photography
  • Sculptural designs
  • Packaging
  • Brand names
  • Product concepts
  • Visual identity
  • Trade dress
  • Marketing claims

He also explains that while original creative work may have copyright protection when created, registration is often needed if you want to enforce that copyright in court.

For eCommerce brands, the right IP strategy may include several layers:

  • Copyright for original images, artwork, photography, or product design elements.
  • Trademark for brand names, logos, and identifiers.
  • Trade dress for distinctive packaging, product presentation, or visual identity.

Alan gives the example of a supplement brand being copied through similar packaging, colors, fonts, and layout. In that situation, trade dress may be more relevant than a simple trademark claim.

Important Insight: Your brand protection strategy should match how copycats are actually stealing from you.

How CopyCatch.AI Helps eCommerce Brands Fight Back

CopyCatch.AI helps brands identify copycats, prepare evidence, and work with legal partners to pursue enforcement.

Alan explains that the process is designed to take much of the burden off the brand owner.

CopyCatch can help with:

  • Finding infringers across Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Etsy, Temu, and other marketplaces.
  • Expanding the infringer list beyond what the brand has already found.
  • Capturing screenshots and evidence.
  • Preparing court-ready documentation.
  • Estimating potential case value.
  • Coordinating with attorneys on Schedule A cases.
  • Helping brands understand whether they have a viable enforcement opportunity.

Alan says brand owners may only need to provide initial information and sign certain documents along the way, while CopyCatch and its legal partners handle the heavier case preparation process.

Operational Advantage: The less time founders spend chasing copycats manually, the more time they can spend growing the brand.

Why Permanent Removal Beats Temporary Takedowns

The core difference Alan highlights is that basic takedowns may only remove a piece of content, while stronger legal enforcement can create lasting consequences.

Through Schedule A lawsuits and settlement agreements, infringers may be required to:

  • Stop selling the infringing product.
  • Pay a settlement.
  • Sign agreements preventing future infringement.
  • Face automatic damages if they violate again.
  • Lose access to frozen marketplace funds until the issue is resolved.

For Alan, this is what changed the economics of the problem.

Instead of repeatedly reporting the same type of copycat, brands can use legal pressure to make infringement expensive.

Core Lesson: If copycats only lose a listing, they may come back. If they lose money, they learn faster.

Who Should Consider an IP Enforcement Strategy?

This approach is not just for massive enterprise brands.

Alan specifically wants small and mid-sized eCommerce sellers to understand that stronger IP enforcement may be accessible to them too, especially when cases can be handled on a contingency-based model.

Brands may want to explore this if they have:

  • Original product designs being copied.
  • Competitors using their images or creative assets.
  • Knockoff listings stealing sales on Amazon or other marketplaces.
  • A strong product with visible demand.
  • Registered or registerable IP.
  • Evidence that infringers are generating meaningful revenue.

Alan also notes that some upfront IP work may be needed, such as registering copyrights or reviewing the brand’s IP portfolio with an attorney.

Founder Filter: If copycats are taking real sales from you, IP enforcement may be a revenue recovery strategy, not just a legal expense.

Free IP Infringement Case Evaluation

Alan is offering listeners of The eCom Growth Show a free IP infringement case evaluation.

You can request the evaluation here: Free IP Infringement Case Evaluation

Don’t forget to mention The eCom Growth Show!

Connect With Alan

Final Thoughts

For eCommerce brands, copycats are not just an annoyance. They can drain revenue, destroy pricing power, weaken brand value, and quietly take over demand that should belong to the original creator.

Alan’s story shows that IP enforcement can be more than a defensive move. When done correctly, it can remove unfair competition, recover stolen revenue, and help brands rebuild their marketplace momentum.

The bigger lesson is simple: if you have built something worth copying, you need to build protection around it.

Stay tuned for more episodes of The eCom Growth Show, where eCommerce operators learn how to protect what they’ve built, reclaim lost revenue, and scale with stronger systems!