For sellers

Etsy asked you to prove your design is original. Here's what to send.

A deactivated listing is rarely about quality. It is about evidence — and most sellers have none until the moment they need it.

All guides

If you sell print-on-demand or digital designs, you have probably seen the message, or know someone who has: a listing is deactivated, or you are asked to demonstrate that the design is your own original work. Etsy's Creativity Standards require listings to be a seller's own design, and Etsy can ask for proof of authorship when a listing is challenged.

The hard part is that "proof" is not defined for you. Sellers scramble to assemble something convincing after the fact, which is the worst possible time to start.

What actually counts as evidence

Anything that shows the work existed, in your hands, before the challenge — and that it has not been altered since. In practice, reviewers respond to a few things:

• Dated working files. Layered originals, drafts, or a version history that predates the listing. Screenshots of a folder are weak; the files themselves are better.
• A record that cannot be back-dated. This is the one most sellers lack. A file timestamp on your own computer can be changed in seconds, and everyone reviewing your case knows that.
• Consistency. A body of work in a recognisable style is more persuasive than a single contested image.

Why AI detection makes this worse

AI-detection tools produce false positives, and they do it confidently. Sellers who never used a generative tool have had listings pulled. Because the detector cannot be argued with, the burden lands on you to produce something better than a denial.

Which means the useful question is not "how do I prove I didn't use AI" — it is "what independent record can I point to?"

Building the record before you need it

GenieMade registers a creation into a public registry and issues a certificate: an Ed25519-signed record that this exact file — identified by its SHA-256 content hash — was first registered by your account, on that date. Change one pixel and the hash changes, so the record is tamper-evident. Anyone can check it without an account.

What to actually send

1. The verification link for the registered file, so the reviewer can confirm it themselves.
2. Your dated working files or drafts, if you have them.
3. A short, plain explanation of your process — what you made, when, and how.

Short and checkable beats long and assertive. A link a reviewer can click carries more weight than several paragraphs asking them to take your word.

Do it for the listings that matter

You do not need to register everything. Register your best sellers, anything you have seen copied, and any design you would genuinely fight for. That is a handful of files, and it takes a minute each.

The registry is public and free to check. If someone challenges your work later, you send a link instead of an argument.