Copyrighting vibe

(2 min read) Copying looks, tone, and aesthetic may feel shady, but for now, it’s still legal (and often lucrative).

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Avi Gandhi
June 03, 2025

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You can still copy vibes (for now)

Last year, lifestyle influencer Sydney Nicole Gifford sued fellow influencer Alyssa Sheil in federal court for copyright infringement, trade dress misappropriation, and unfair competition, stating that “in at least thirty photo posts across Defendant’s Platforms, Defendant has featured identical products featured in posts of Plaintiff’s Platforms with identical styling, tone, camera angle, and/or text.”

The lawsuit now known as the "Sad Beige lawsuit" prompted the New York Times to ask the question, "Can You Copyright a Vibe?"For now, it seems like the answer is “Probably not.”

Gifford and Sheil settled out of court with neither paying the other. Both of them covered their own attorney's costs, and Gifford dropped the lawsuit.

Gifford said:

“I have decided to resolve this dispute prior to trial to focus on my business and growing family. Litigation is prohibitively expensive and time-consuming, and I want to focus my energy elsewhere.”

Sheil said:

“I could have caved to Ms. Gifford’s demands, but this was a much larger fight and sets a precedent that young minority entrepreneurs will not allow ourselves to be bullied. Ms. Gifford attempted to intimidate me into leaving this industry. She failed miserably as the truth has prevailed today.”

Copying the “vibe” of other influencers is not new. Just a few months ago, a TikTokker went viral for pointing out that “NYC influencers are boring” - they look, dress, and act the same.

There’s a simple reason that, no matter where you look, this happens: it’s lucrative.

We like things that are like things that we like. Say it 5x fast.

If you like chocolate chip cookies and you prefer Tate’s, but the store doesn’t have any Tate’s, you’re more likely to buy the chocolate chip cookies from Celebration than you are to buy, say, Tate’s coconut cookies.

The same goes for content, and for the people that make content.

This applies to the consumers that buy your products and services, as well as to the brands that market through you.

For example, if a brand’s strategy states that their ideal influencer is Kim Kardashian but they can't afford Kim Kardashian, then you probably have a good shot at getting their money if you look, dress, and act like Kim Kardashian on social.

While outright stealing and reposting content - from plagiarizing writing and copying logos to ripping actual video - is still unethical and illegal, for now there seems to be no final ruling on vibe protection.

Until there is, we’re sure to keep seeing lots of influencers that look, speak, dress, and act similarly - all following the trends set by the folks at the top of their categories. I personally don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.

After all, imitation is the most lucrative form of flattery.

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Written by Avi Gandhi, edited by Melody Song,
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