When people steal your ideas, it is always frustrating: when this theft threatens your business, reputation and everything you have worked for, it is terrifying, unjust, and enraging. Makes my blood boil.
Much has been written about both sides of the internet, the good and the bad.
The bad? Internet predators, leeches, scammers, false information, the lack of privacy, the new trend of having it all “out there” regardless of the consequences, hackers – the list is a long one.
But there is another internet risk, too, one affecting small businesspeople and something we should all be aware of.
That is, having your ideas stolen, blatantly, from your websites by rival businesspeople, who claim them as their own, tarnishing reputations and ripping off the public.
Maybe you’ve been following the recent case of Men at Work’s “Land Down Under” allegedly ripping off the classic folk tune “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree”. Similar cases have been played out in the past, with artists suing other artists for ripping off their tunes, profiting from their work.
Well, the same can be done with websites, and, unfortunately, it is more common than one might think.
They can do this by simply copying an outline of your business, albeit a shoddier version, changing the domain name by as little as one letter, and stealing any information you provide your consumers to use on their own site. They may then charge consumers to view the information, or strike up deals with shonky business pals to rip off those who come to the site seeking information.
Impostors can design a similar website to another businessperson – but with added fees, lower quality advice and even false of misleading information. They may charge for services the original site provides for free, thus damaging the original site owner’s reputation.
And, it seems, there is not a lot the person being imitated can do about it. It appears that many people are getting away with this scot-free – all it takes is a knowledge of copyright loopholes and a sly and sleeze ball nature.
You may have guessed, I was recently in the in the throes of a battle – in fact, three battles – along these lines, and I cannot tell you how frustrating it is. It is disheartening to those who have built a business with the best of intentions, with not a thought to blatantly ripping people off, to see people muscle in on their territory. Come on, be original, please, get your own ideas and stop copying and stealing mine.
Businesspeople with integrity work hard to build a reputation of being fair, treating clients or customers fairly and honestly, and that this can be taken away by one person with little to no conscience or originality, has the potential to be devastating.
I believe in karma: what goes around comes around, and if that is the case, then those who simply leech of others’ ideas have got plenty coming to them. It is hard to keep that in mind when in the centre of a complicated, lengthy and maddening legal battle but I cannot stand the thought of people getting away with so blatantly ripping off the ideas of others.
So here’s some free advice: keep an eye on your business, vigorously protect your brands, keep up your integrity, and fight as hard as you can to keep your work, and your good name, in tact. It’s business battle, 21st century style.
You know who you are, so you better watch out, karma will get you, big time or my Lawyer will.
Leah Gibbs is the Founder and Business Manager of Lifestyle Careers.
Lifestyle Careers is an online recruitment job board. Our niche and specific focus is the advertising of flexible employment and work at home positions. It is designed for professionals wanting to balance their work and personal life.
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I feel your pain Leah as we too have had this happen to us by someone who has done it repeatedly to at least seven businesses that I am aware of. The remarkable thing is that each time she fails, miserably but she gets back up, befriends another business owner – so professionally milking them of their intellectual property, and off she goes setting up a new website based on the information she has gleaned. It’s pathetic and sick! I’m all for karma too, but sometimes I wish it woud happen a little quicker, lol.
Good luck with the lega battle and stand your ground.
Leah I feel your pain too, very deeply.
The problem is becoming more prevalent and is unlikely to go away soon.
I do believe ‘ideas’ cannot be protected/trademarked; if it’s a good idea chances are it will be reapplied somewhere. The fact that there are close to 350 job boards in Australia is because a good idea is reproduced. But reapplying a good idea and actually duplicating the same look/content are two very different things. One drives competition and innovation, the other is closer to outright theft. Clearly, in your case it’s the latter.
Competition is a good thing; it’s what drives growth and innovation in our industry. By all means let’s all compete as hard as we can, but within the boundaries of the law, fairness and simple human decency. Why some people will resort to underhand practices in this day and age of transparency is beyond me. That someone is willing to risk their reputation for a few more extra hits, or hope to start a new business from other’s content is just outright silly.
I must say though, it is especially draining for a start-up when one is trying real hard to stay above water. I have been on the receiving end myself a couple of times, but have been largely silent because I lack the time to address it. Of course, I assume the perpetrators are mistaking silence for weakness. I digress.
I don’t believe in karma (the philosophy) but I believe right will prevail over wrong. You have my support, and I believe the majority in our industry. Good luck.
Hi Leah
I have never had this done to me however have seen it done many a time. Do you take it as a complement that someone was threatened enough by your success to blatantly rip you off!! I have no idea about the specific laws surrounding these types of cases but with it happening everywhere all over the net I would think it is extremely hard to “police”!
Best of luck, we all know in the end Karma will get them
cheers
Nat
I have had affiliates duplicate my original articles that took a long time to write, and have lost page rank because of it. Thanks for the read Leah