Welcome to the latest in our agony aunt series, Dear Boom. This week’s dilemma touches on one of the most maddening of experiences. A creative has spotted someone stealing their ideas and being a copycat. How should they respond?
When we asked our community this question on Instagram, the responses were immediate and passionate. Everyone, it seems, has been there: that sickening moment when you recognise your own work reflected back at you, uncredited and unacknowledged.
It’s natural to feel anger, frustration, and a deep sense of violation. But what’s the best way to channel these feelings, and not let them eat you up from the inside?
Learning process
As a creative, dealing with copying is something you get better at over time, says graphic artist Ranjit Sihat. “Once, I’d have confronted them and become angry enough to lose my own peace of mind,” she reflects. “But nowadays I see things differently. It can be an opportunity to push my work further, and maybe I’ll even feel a little sorry for them.”
Ranjit has also learned over time to adopt a more philosophical perspective on copying. “I’ve just finished reading about Lichtenstein, who was hailed as a Pop Art pioneer but was, to some, a plagiarist,” she explains. “And this makes me wonder: how frustrated did the original comic artists feel about this at the time?”
From pop art to hip-hop sampling, copying has always (like it or not) been part of creative evolution. So the question is: How much energy do you want to spend on someone else’s behaviour, versus investing in your own growth?
Rising above it
Designer Allan Peters believes you’re often best off rising above it. “Invest your energy into your next project, not going after the copycat,” he advises. “Make the next thing they’ll want to copy.”
In other words, his recommended defence against copycats is to keep moving. While they’re stuck reproducing your old work, you’ll already be three steps ahead, developing new ideas they haven’t even seen yet. It’s a mindset that transforms you from victim to pioneer.
That’s not to say, though, that action isn’t sometimes warranted; it’s all about context. As copywriter Paul Machin puts it: “Do you know this person, or are they a random stranger? If the latter, I’d be tempted to make contact and see what they’re about – not in an aggressive way, but rather a calm and considered request to connect. It may spook them. Alternatively, you could send them a ‘cease and desist’ email or letter, with the implication of legal action.”
This calm, professional contact serves multiple purposes. It establishes that you’re aware of the copying. It opens a dialogue if the person is reasonable. It also creates a paper trail in case legal action becomes necessary.
Angry vs calm
The key word here, of course, is “calm”. Approaching copycats while angry rarely yields the desired outcome and often escalates situations unnecessarily.
At the same time, don’t expect legal action to be a silver bullet. For instance, there’s a murky grey area between what’s considered “theft” and what’s seen as “inspiration”. To take one offbeat example, the Sex Pistols admitted their song Pretty Vacant lifted the guitar riff from ABBA’s SOS. However, personally, I never spotted the similarity, and I don’t think many music fans would have either.
Complicating things further, brand maker Fiona O’Brien points out that while visual work can be protected by copyright, ideas themselves are much harder to defend legally. “I’ve had this so many times,” she complains. “There’s nothing more infuriating! I can never get my head around people who feel okay with doing this. It’s the opposite of how I like to live my life.”
Professional illustrator Inma Hortas shares Fiona’s anger. “It’s happened to me as well,” she says. “I hate all you mediocre minds. I block every copycat I find, mine and from others as well.” But while this emotional response is understandable, graphic designer Ben Flay believes we should try to look on the positive side.
“Plagiarists copy because they can’t do,” he argues. “And as they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” In other words, it’s proof that your own work is meaningful and valuable enough to copy in the first place.
Practical responses
Ultimately, how you deal with copycats will vary on a case-by-case basis, depending on your circumstances, personality, the stage of your career, and the severity and damage of the infringement. On the whole, though, here are some things you’ll want to do in every situation.
Document everything. Whether you confront the copycat or not, keep records of your original work and when you created it. Screenshots, timestamps and project files all matter if things escalate.
Assess the damage. Try to find out whether this person is actually competing with you, or if they’re copying in a different market entirely. The latter doesn’t make it right, of course, but it will affect how you respond. For example, a student copying your style for practice is different from a rival stealing your client work and selling it to the highest bidder.
Consider your energy. Fighting copycats can consume enormous amounts of time and emotional bandwidth. So sometimes the best response is to channel that energy into more positive outlets, such as creating work so distinctive and advanced that copying becomes impossible anyway.
Know your legal options. While ideas themselves can’t be copyrighted, some specific expressions of ideas can be. So if someone has stolen significant amounts of your actual design work, writing, photography or music—not just the concept behind it—legal action can be worth considering.
The long view
Copying is an inevitable part of creative life. As frustrating as it is, every successful creative will face it many times during their career. The question, then, isn’t whether it will happen, but how you’ll respond when it does.
Overall, we recommend that you document the situation thoroughly and cultivate emotional resilience. So yes, you should protect your work where possible, and confront copycats when necessary. But never let their lack of originality diminish your own creative drive.
After all, there’s something deeply satisfying about the knowledge that while people are copying your past work, you’re already creating their next source material. So stay one step ahead, keep creating, and remember: imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but innovation is the ultimate victory.
