InvestigateTV+: Designers say their work is being stolen, marketed with AI
Dozens of creators have sued online retailers, claiming copyright and trademark infringement
(InvestigateTV) — Austin-based fashion designer Cassey Ho dreamed of being a fashion designer from the time she was a child.
“I grew up carrying a sketchbook with me everywhere, just like sketching,” Ho said. “I ended up making my Halloween costumes, my dance costumes, my friend’s prom dresses. It’s just something that I always wanted.”
Fast forward through the years, and Ho is the founder and head designer of both ‘Blogilates’ and ‘Popflex’ activewear. To market her products and explain her story, she often shares videos on her social media networks, aiming to show customers the long hours and careful crafting behind each product.
From concept to market, Ho says each piece she designs typically takes a year and a half to three years.
Now she says she’s in competition with fast fashion retailers who capitalize on her success and original designs. Those shops, she says, copy her designs and then produce pieces quickly and sell them for less than the materials she uses.
In this episode of InvestigateTV+, we examine:
- How designers say AI is being used by online fast fashion retailers to identify, copy and market their work. Our team analyzed court records and found SHEIN (along with its parent and affiliate companies), for example, has been sued at least 100 times for copyright, trademark and other design claims. Additionally, some of the large online retailers are even suing each other in the U.S. and U.K.
- Why car crashes remain the leading killer of children ages 5-14 despite improved laws, with experts revealing 90% of car seats are improperly installed, and many parents transition kids to regular seat belts too early
- How a Tennessee high school’s competitive video gaming team has doubled attendance, boosted grades, and created new pathways to college scholarships in the billion-dollar gaming industry
- The emotional chance encounter between a South Fulton police lieutenant who was shot three times in the line of duty and the trauma surgeon who helped save his life during a routine hospital visit months later
Fashion, graphic designers say their work is being stolen, marketed with AI
“I love ballerinas. I think they’re the epitome of grace and strength,” Cassey Ho said when describing her “pirouette skort”.
It’s an athletic design with a flouncy skirt that has pocketed shorts underneath. It quickly gained popularity online and, like all of her ideas, started simply in her sketchbook.
“I wanted to create something that would make me feel really beautiful as I was working out or running.”
Cassey first unveiled the skort to customers in 2022. It sold out within days.
But in that popularity, she believes the fast fashion company SHEIN saw an opportunity to rip off the design she had painstakingly perfected.
“It’s stealing, and it’s thievery,” Ho said. “Because my designs are like my babies!”
Ho quickly called attention to her suspicions, posting a message to her more than 10 million subscribers on YouTube saying she believed SHEIN stole her pirouette design.
As her skort gained interest, she went through the lengthy and expensive process of getting a design patent for the skort.
Then in 2024, Taylor Swift appeared in videos wearing Ho’s original skort, and demand surged even higher.
At the same time, Ho said the number of knockoffs surged as well, offered at a fraction of her price for the original.
“It’s just exhausting,” Ho said. “What’s been wild is that even with the patent, there is no enforcement with the government to ensure that that patent isn’t violated.”
Driven to Danger: See mistakes some parents make when it comes to car seats
Car crashes are the leading cause of death for most kids and teenagers, but not in the earliest years of life.
Statistics show that’s because of the life-saving power of car seats.
Jacqueline Martinson knows this first-hand. Her daughter was in the hospital in critical condition for months after a serious rollover crash in Prescott in January.
“Somehow, she lost control of the car. The car rolled about three or four times and in that process, she was ejected out,” said Martinson.
But her 11-month-old granddaughter, who was also in the SUV at the time, was barely hurt because she was strapped into a car seat. “She actually came out of this situation by the grace of God with just a couple bruises,” said Martinson.
In Arizona, car crashes aren’t even in the top five leading causes of death for children under 4 years old, but once they turn 5, it’s the number one killer.
Metro Nashville high school launches city’s first e-sports program
Students at Metro Nashville’s Pearl-Cohn High School are used to competing for state championships on the football field, but a new sport is taking over the school.
Students at the North Nashville campus are the first in Metro Nashville Public Schools to turn their love for video games into big wins on the national stage.
Raylin Carter and around 30 other students play in the school’s new e-sports arena every week. It opened this year, and the team has already won games in major competitions.
School leaders said the e-sports team has increased attendance and boosted grades for students who want to turn something they love into a career.
Chance Encounter: Police officer reunites with trauma surgeon who saved his life
What started as a routine interview about a new medical helicopter turned into an extraordinary moment of serendipity when a recovering police officer unexpectedly encountered the trauma surgeon who saved his life.
Lieutenant Charles Cook of the South Fulton Police Department was shot three times on April 18, 2025, while responding to a 911 call in Atlanta.
Months later, as he recovered from his injuries, Cook ran into Dr. Ryan Fransman during what neither man expected would be an emotional reunion.
The chance meeting occurred in June as reporter Joshua Skinner from Gray Media’s Atlanta News First was interviewing Fransman, Grady Hospital’s leading trauma surgeon and air medical director, about the launch of a new medical helicopter program.
Editor’s Note: In the episode summary, the original description suggested that Temu was included with SHEIN in over 100 copyright lawsuits from designers. Only SHEIN should have been referenced in that finding.
Rather, Temu and SHEIN have been involved in lawsuits against each other, which is referenced in our full investigation, along with a statement from Temu.
