Can I legally use a supplier's product photos on my store?
A supplier's product photo can in practice be used legally only when the copyright owner has given permission that covers the use. In the UK, the Intellectual Property Office's copyright notice, updated 4 January 2021, says it is "only safe to use it if you have specific permission to do so through a licence", or where the owner's own site terms, expired copyright or a legal exception cover the use, and that copying images and hosting them on another website "will usually amount to copyright infringement".
In the US, the Copyright Office says a work is under copyright protection "the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form", and registration is in general voluntary. A missing notice proves nothing either: the UK notice says the copyright symbol "does not have to be present for copyright to exist". US law gives the owner the exclusive rights to reproduce the work, prepare derivative works and distribute copies (17 U.S.C. § 106).
This page describes US and UK sources read on 31 October 2026. It is general information and not legal advice. Rules vary by country.
Who owns a supplier's product photo?
The photographer or the photographer's employer usually owns a product photo, and the supplier selling the item may own nothing. The UK notice says the person who creates an image "will generally be the first owner of the copyright", and that an employer will generally own images made by an employee.
A dropshipping chain makes this harder to trace. A factory may commission a photo, a wholesaler may reuse it, and a marketplace seller may copy it from another listing. A supplier that says "feel free to use it" may be giving a permission it does not hold, so the useful question is who took the photo and what licence the supplier has.
What do AliExpress's terms say about using listing photos?
AliExpress's Terms of Use bar users from copying listing images, in the version effective 26 September 2026. Clause 3.2(a) says users will not "copy, reproduce, download, re-publish, sell, distribute or resell" any information, text, images, or listings on the sites, and bars "otherwise commercially exploiting the Site Content". Clause 10.1 describes AliExpress as owner or lawful licensee of that content, with rights also resting with affiliates or licensors.
A route to permission does exist for business buyers. The AliExpress Business Program agreement, last updated 1 February 2024, names drop shippers among its participants. Clause 6.2 says a participant shall not copy or modify graphics files or content from sellers' stores "unless otherwise agreed by AliExpress or Sellers in writing". Written agreement is the point: a public listing, or a tool that imports it with one click, moves a file and does not by itself create a licence.
What should written permission for a product photo cover?
Written permission for a product photo should name the images, the owner, and the uses you plan, and it should come from someone able to grant it. An email can be enough as evidence, provided it is specific. A short request can read: please confirm that you own or control the copyright in the attached images, and that our store may use them on its website, marketplaces and ads, worldwide, for as long as we sell the product, including resizing and background changes.
| Point to confirm | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Who owns the copyright | A licence from a non-owner may give no protection |
| Which images are covered | A general reply is hard to rely on later |
| Channels and territory | Website use does not always include ads or marketplaces |
| Duration | A licence can end while the listing is still live |
| Editing | Changes can need permission, as a derivative work |
| People shown | A photographed model may have terms of their own; see model release |
| Logos and brands | A copyright licence does not clear a third party's trademark |
Can I remove a watermark from a supplier's photo?
Do not remove a watermark from a photo you do not own. A watermark is a statement that someone claims the image, and removing it is a separate problem from copying it. The right step is to ask the owner for a clean licensed file, or to stop using the image. Cropping it out, retouching it and erasing it with AI are all ways of removing it, and the same advice applies.
US law addresses this directly. Under 17 U.S.C. § 1202(b), intentionally removing or altering copyright management information without authority is prohibited where a person knows, or for civil remedies has reasonable grounds to know, that doing so will induce, enable, facilitate or conceal infringement. That information includes the title of the work and the names of its author and owner, so a watermark showing an owner's name can qualify. Section 1203 sets statutory damages of $2,500 to $25,000 per violation.
UK law has a parallel rule. Section 296ZG of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 covers a person who knowingly and without authority removes or alters electronic rights management information, knowing or having reason to believe that this facilitates infringement, and the UK notice says "Deliberate removal of metadata that identifies the copyright owner is unlawful".
Google Merchant Center's image page also lists stock photo watermarks, copyright symbols and graphic stamps among things to avoid, so a watermarked photo is unusable in that channel, whoever owns it.
Does editing a supplier's photo or running it through AI make it mine?
Editing a supplier's photo does not make it yours, and neither does running it through an AI tool. A new background, a recolour or an AI restyle starts from the owner's work, and US law reserves the right to prepare derivative works to the copyright owner. An image built on a photo you may not use carries that problem with it.
An AI tool also cannot grant rights it never had. Herofab leaves rights in uploads with the user and makes no claim on them, which means the question of whether a source photo may be used stays with the seller. For model photos, Herofab's Jewelry and Eyewear studios ask for a model photo you have permission to use.
What can happen if I use a supplier's photo without permission?
Using a supplier's photo without permission can lead to a takedown, a demand for payment or a lawsuit. A complaint to the host or marketplace can remove a listing while it is selling.
In US law, statutory damages for infringement range from $750 to $30,000 per work, up to $150,000 for wilful infringement and down to $200 for innocent infringement (17 U.S.C. § 504(c)). The Copyright Office notes that registered works may be eligible for statutory damages, and that registration is needed before a lawsuit over a US work, so not every photo reaches those figures.
How accurate does a supplier's photo have to be?
A supplier's photo has to show what the buyer will actually receive, whatever its rights position. US law declares "unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce" unlawful (15 U.S.C. § 45), and a photo on a store is part of what the seller represents.
Google's image page says the image "must clearly display the exact item being sold". Supplier photos often fail that test without any bad intent: the colour changed between batches, the logo moved, a prop in the picture is not included, or the photo shows a better version than the one shipped.
How do I make product photos of my own from a sample?
Make your own product photos by ordering one sample, photographing it, and creating every store image from that photo. A sample does two jobs: it gives you a photo you took, and it shows what the supplier really ships. Sample cost is not included in the figures below.
Take the source photo on a plain surface in daylight, front first, then a close-up of any logo, label or stitching. Technique is covered in the guide on taking product photos with an iPhone.
From that photo, Packshot studio delivers the product on white and Product studio places it in a scene, each at $0.16–$0.48 per image. For clothing, Virtual try-on at $0.20–$0.60 per image shows the item on a synthetic model, and Ghost mannequin costs $0.16–$0.48. Ten products with three images each use 120 credits, which fits Herofab's Starter plan at $19 a month.
Compare every result with the sample, small text first. Herofab briefs its tools to keep the product as photographed, but its automated pre-delivery check of 303 generated test outputs flagged 20.8%, with 4.0% showing a different product. The check should be repeated when the supplier changes the product. The check covered images made between 24 September and 12 October 2026, before Herofab's late-October image engine change.
AI product photos for dropshipping
What does owning my photo not cover?
Owning your photo covers the photo and nothing else. A logo, a brand name or a protected design on the product stays with its owner, so a photo you took does not make a counterfeit or an unlicensed branded item lawful to sell.
AI results carry a limit of their own. Herofab claims no ownership of images it generates, and they may be used for any lawful purpose, including commercially. Depending on the law of the country, AI-generated images may not be protected by copyright, so Herofab cannot promise exclusive rights in them. The guide Who owns AI-generated images? covers this in detail.
When is it fine to use the supplier's photo?
Using the supplier's photo is fine when the owner has licensed it for your use, the owner supplies a file without a watermark, and the picture matches the product. Brands and authorised distributors often run media kits for resellers, and a written licence with clear terms is a sound basis. In that case, reusing the supplier's photo may well be the cheapest and fastest route.
Licensed photos have limits. The same photo appears on every store that sells the item, and the licence may end with the supply agreement. A sample suits products you plan to keep selling, while a licensed photo can suit a test listing.
Checklist
- Identify the photo's owner, not only the seller who sent it.
- Get permission in writing, naming images, channels, duration and edits.
- Never remove, crop out or retouch a watermark on someone else's image.
- Check the logo, colour, contents and size against a sample before publishing.
- Keep a record of each image's source, licence, date and expiry.
- Recheck listings when the supplier changes the product.
Sources
- UK Intellectual Property Office — Copyright notice: digital images, photographs and the internet, updated 4 January 2021
- US Copyright Office — Frequently asked questions
- 17 U.S.C. § 106 — Exclusive rights in copyrighted works
- 17 U.S.C. § 504 — Remedies for infringement
- 17 U.S.C. § 1202 — Integrity of copyright management information
- 17 U.S.C. § 1203 — Civil remedies
- UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 296ZG
- AliExpress.com Terms of Use, effective 26 September 2026
- AliExpress Business Program User Agreement, 1 February 2024
- 15 U.S.C. § 45 — Unfair methods of competition; unfair or deceptive acts or practices
- Google Merchant Center Help — Image link [image_link]
Checked 31 October 2026. Rules change; the official pages are the final reference.