I feel with the amount of problems related to creative property theft here lately I must quickly address the problem and provide what I think is the perfect solution.
For example, invitation designs being replicated almost exactly, website designs (stylesheets) being copied completely, social icons I created custom (she paid for these ) for a certain popular blogger I’ve seen all over the web.. Pictures being taken from other people’s websites and claimed as their own, free printables being downloaded and sold on Etsy.. Really, unfortunately, the list could go on and on..
There are some amazingly creative women bloggers and designers I follow that have had this happen to them. I, actually, have had this happen to me quite a few times. The first few times I didn’t say anything, and then I did confront them and I felt bad (I’m not really sure why I felt bad…) But I still feel bad about calling them out on it, for whatever reason. At the same time I feel I needed to stand up for myself and let them know I was aware.
It’s such a heart sinking feeling to experience theft of any kind. I’ve had my purse and phone stolen on separate occasions. Both were terrible experiences. But seeing my hard work and hours of brainstorming creative ideas just ripped of with a right click felt like someone punched me in the stomach.
The root of the problem here is simply either a lack of creativity on the posers part, or a deep admiration for those they’re copying. Either way it’s a sad fate for those that choose to copy rather than dig deep into their own creative stores. Can you ever be truly satisfied unless your success is actually yours? Will you ever be truly successful unless you’re able to create something completely different that stands out among others? I would hope and think not. At least I know I couldn’t and wouldn’t.
The moral of the story for all of you creative souls out there… Keep on truckin’! Feeling and being creative is a gift that noone can take away from you. You are providing the world with inspiration (some more than others, haha) and yourself with an outlet for your fabulous ideas. Don’t let the posers get you down!
Say a little prayer for calm and clarity. Ask God to give you the words and actions to deal with the situation in a way that He would approve of.
You can’t change other people, but you can change how you deal with those people. For the second time this week I’m referencing one of my all time favorite quotes, it fits.
“I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you . . . we are in charge of our attitudes.” -Charles Swindoll
Just be yourself, live your life and try to have as positive an impact on others as possible. Hopefully it’ll rub off on the posers 
About Lindsey
I couldn’t agree more! I am sorry this is happening to you Lindsey!!!
Thank you Lindsay! Unfortunately it is happening to pretty much everyone here lately.
You are such an admirable woman!! When I read your post I could hear the love and peace of our Heavenly Father; you are wearing your faith with such confidence, it inspires me to do the same.
You inspire me daily, Tootie
Nicely said and well handled. You sound just like me, I feel bad when I have to stand up for myself, even though it’s not me who should feel bad. It really is a heartbreaking feeling when something you work so hard on gets ripped away so easily. Thanks for the encouragement, as Disney said “keep moving forward”.
I love Disney, words to live by
Well said. There are so, so many wonderful designers out there and as a new designer, I find loads of inspiration from browsing portfolios. BUT…I would never intentionally replicate or recreate a logo or a design exactly as I’ve seen someone else do it. As a creative soul myself it is gut-wrenching to see someone steal your ideas and hard work and claim it as their own. I recently had someone steal some of the coding on my blog and implement it on their own. Then they had the nerve to ask me to tell them what I thought of their “new” design. Sorry this is happening to you, girl.
Oh geeze lol Well, did you tell them you liked it because you created it?
I’m sorry that happened to you!
I’m so sorry that happened to you!! Imitation stops being flattery when it turns into theft.
Thank you Victoria!
I’m right there with you! I’ve had this happen to me SO many times, and rarely have I really spoken up about it. In addition to outright stealing, it’s really hard when a design client REQUESTS the exact things you, (and other designers of course) have created. While I’m tempted to say, “Are you kidding?” I really just have to say “No, sorry.” But of course in a nice way. LOL! There’s a very distinct difference between inspiration and stealing, and many bloggers aren’t aware of that line. Boo. But yay for you for spreading the word!
Oh sister, that one always makes me cringe a little :/ I agree 100%
The true originals will keep evolving and having new ideas. The posers will always be a few steps behind, because all they can do is copy.
Although an official “Cease and Desist” letter can usually get the copied material taken down suuuuper fast
Hahaha awesome, I love that! and fully intend to implement that tactic if and when the situation presents itself
Thank you, Chris!
ick. boo to theft!
It’s a sad feeling when someone steals your hard work.
But you know what they say, “Imitation is the greatest form of flattery.”
You are very talented and make beautiful designs.
I couldn’t agree more! I just had to temporarily redo a clients header because her previous designer decided to file a false DCMA report claiming copyright infringement on a repeating background I purchased from Istockphoto. She swears she created the background herself from scratch and thus owns the copyright. Sadly it’s the same image from Istockphoto only with serious quality loss. I’ve had to make a video showing step by step how the background in question is located in my Istockphoto account and modified in Illustrator so my client can prove the other designer is not the copyright owner of said stock image and that the creator of stock illustration is. I wish some “designers” would educate themselves on what stock images are and that they cannot claim exclusive rights to them if people are legitimately purchasing them.
Keep up the awesome work Lindsey and I love your new theme, which I already purchased.