What to do when people copy your shit.
When someone decides that they’re going to blatantly copy your shit to make more money, get more attention or try to put you out of business just remember what my fiancée told me recently:
“Well at least it means you’re doing something right”
But what to do about it?
Truth is, there’s not much you can do if it’s not business-related, and even then, it can be incredibly time-consuming and costly to take legal action.
Your best bets are likely the following:
- Confront the person in question and let them know that you know, and then ask them to stop / remove / edit.
- Seek out important mutual connections and tactfully involve them in the hope that you can gain powerful social leverage.
- Ignore them.
Never, ever, post this stuff on social media. Ever. Unless it’s completely unclear as to who you’re referring to and you frame it as an educational article, like this one.
Re. point #3, it’s important to remember that there’s a ROI (Return On Investment) to everything you do. What are the cons of not doing anything? What are the pros? If the pros outweigh the cons then just move on. They will be eating up more of you if you spend unnecessary time / energy / money on them.
If your only option is to seek legal advice and take that bitch down then I suggest you find a very good lawyer / team of lawyers. If you’re stuck on this option email me here—I may be able to hook you up with someone good.
