Accusations of copycatting have been levelled by two small businesses operating close to each other in the same street in Sydney's Newtown.

Hands lifestyle goods store accused a newly-opened boutique called Sharing of borrowing its style, branding colour and stocking "fake and rip-off" versions of its merchandise.

"Sharing shop has copied our brand colours, fit-out, furniture, website design and the brands we sell — our entire concept," an Instagram post from Hands said.

The post featured side-by-side photographs showing similar-looking furniture and items for sale in Sharing's store.

Hands, which has been open in Newtown in Sydney's inner west for the past two years, called for its customers to not support the new store.

The owner of Hands declined to give further comment when contacted by ABC Radio Sydney.

Sharing hit back on Instagram, suggesting the Hands store had borrowed its name and branding from the Japanese department store Hands.

The green-branded Japanese chain store which has no presence in Australia rebranded from Tokyu Hands to Hands in late 2022.

"What position are you to say others steal?" Sharing's Instagram post said.

The owner of Sharing told ABC Radio Sydney they had lost sleep from the online bullying received after the post by the Hands store.

"I am just a small business that wants to do well," Sharing owner Ying Liu said.

Ms Liu did not answer questions about whether or not they had taken inspiration from the Hands store.

Hands is upset by Sharing, which is just 500 metres away. But it is unclear if there is anything Hands can do about it. 

Sydney University Law School lecturer Dr Fady Aoun believes Hands might have a "passing-off" case against Sharing.

Dr Aoun, who specialises in intellectual property, also said there could plausibly be a misleading conduct action against Sharing, if they were using a similar look and feel to misrepresent themselves as being affiliated with Hands.

"The look and feel of the shop, what you might call the get-up of the store, there's a possible argument that that is misrepresentation, which is potentially actionable," Dr Aoun said.

Dr Aoun said it would be important for Hands to establish that it had goodwill for there to be any case, but that a passing-off action would be hard to get up because they usually fail.

Dr Aoun pointed to a 2008 case where fashion retailer Cotton On was successfully sued by the brand Elwood for knocking off the look and feel of one of its T-shirt designs.

Intellectual property lawyer Helen Kavadias doesn't believe there is a case for passing off or misleading conduct.

"They use green and that's really as far as it goes," Ms Kavadias said.

Ms Kavadias referenced how nobody had proved that supermarket chain Aldi had been passing off its goods as others.

"There have been cases against Aldi but no one has ever been able to establish that Aldi has infringed any IP [intellectual property] or passed off any other product or business."

Neither law expert believed there was a trademark infringement case to be made.