Sooooo annoyed!!! Argh!!!

[Kim-Sparkle]

**Warning!! Rant ahead!!!!**

Thought I would come on here and vent my anger!! Im a fellow mobile spray tanner and I have spent a lot of time, money an effort making just the right adverts and flyers and websites to try and target just who I wanted it to be aimed at. I've had 2000 leaflets printed and made various online adverts and now some cheating scumbag has just come along and copy and pasted every single word i've written onto her advert and I mean absolutely word for word with the same spacing and text and just put her telephone number at the bottom.

I wouldnt mind so much if they worked in a different city. But she is in MY TOWN!!! And has used MY business name!!!! Which is going to confuse my clients and in turn lose me money!

She's copied my exact price, all my special offers and my slogans that took me weeks to come up with. I just dont know what to do, im crying one minute and screaming the next. And yes I am hormonal but still lol

I cant believe someone would do that!! And I dont even think I can do anything about it! I've got her number off 'her' (my) advert but I dont know what to do with it... any suggestions???? Or shall I just suck it up and be the more mature person??

Sorry for the long one, im just sooooo annoyed I cant even think, my partner has already chucked me out of the room for doing his head in lol

 

[marie111]

That is terrible, I don't know if you can legally do anything about it but I guess I know what you feel like doing.
I take it this girl is mobile/ If she is you can start by sending her all over the place to fake addresses.
I'm sure someone will be along soon to advise you.

 

[Kim Lawless]

You should have put a copyright on yours.....for what it's worth.

Phone her and ask what her game is. xxx

 

[jodipodi]

Flippin 'eck thats BAD!!!! Isnt there some sort of legal implications to that, if it was me Id definitely be looking into it hun thats terrible and very very sly. Its probably a calmer option to 'suck it up' but me personally-my business, my livelyhood,hard work.....Id be taking it further chick xxx

 

[gillian w]

Bloody cheek of it and im not even sure there is anything you can actually legally do about it certainly nothing that will not end up costing you a lot of money to prove.The biggest companies in the world get copied and scammed.
All i can say is channel your anger in a way that will benefit you ... go and get those clients in whatever way before she does,don't be defeatist, at the end of the day, she's been the clever one ,an absolute cow and very unfair but all you can do is try and beat it.

 

[hippy-chick]

I would talk to her, say that you are aware she is using your adverts, and your slogans, and your business name. Ask her to desist immediately otherwise you will seek legal advice.

That should be enough to make the dumpty panic and desist!

 

[pure]

OMG the nerve of some people never ceases to amaze me.:evil:

Call her up and ask her what she's doing.
Threaten her with legal action.
If she doesn't stop seek legal advice.
If thats no good get all your friends and family to make bogus calls, hundreds of them so that she'll never, ever know which calls are genuine and which aren't.
Go to your local newspaper, get the reporter on side, and tell the story.
Make sure that your whole town knows what a scheming, untrustworthy person she is.

For what it's worth I would be dreadfully upset too if I were in your shoes. But please, don;t let her get away with this, fight, fight and fight again.:hug:

 

[Kim-Sparkle]

Thank you everyone for your quick replies. I quite frankly wanted to rip her head off her shoulders but I have calmed down a little bit now. Think I probably need a glass of wine and a good nights sleep and then think of tactics tomorrow on a fresh head.
I dont know if going about copyrighting will cost me more than the business that I would have lost already. I'll have to see. Im just shocked that someone can do that so blantantly and not care!

Thanks everyone, I feel lots better x

 

[Martin Duffy]

I was under the impression that any original work is automatically copyrighted, whether registered or not, of course proving whose came first is another issue!

 

[number1kitty]

Its copywritten automatically if you can prove how you came up with slogons and logos etc. Ask a solicitior to call her up and threaten her with a court case should she continue to impersonate you. She wouldnt win anyway, especially seen as you would be able to prove (with the help of your printer) that you had the design first!

It will cost you about £200 but at least she may think twice (or just get your mate to call her and pretend shes a solicitor and google copywrite law!)

You dont need the c or copywrite logo to protect it. Its just like a warning on a cigerarette packet its there to remind you!

Or for £200 you could a) go papers and expose her as a fraud! and b) relaunch yourself with some new leaflets and add a slogan such as often copied never beaten, or dont fall for immitators using inferior products, or the real deal, beware of imitators!

Just lets her know your on to her and add on there that its copywritten material and you will prosecute!

Kate xx

 

[number1kitty]

Oh and a little tip if you get a new logo, slogon, leaflet design etc then put it in a sealed envelope and post it to yourself by guaranteed delivery. Sign for it and don't open it!!! Then if anyone nicks your ideas again you will have a dated letter to prove you had the design first. I think banks and solicitors also offer this for about £50 xxx

 

[Bev Rose]

Oh and a little tip if you get a new logo, slogan, leaflet design etc then put it in a sealed envelope and post it to yourself by guaranteed delivery. Sign for it and don't open it!!! Then if anyone nicks your ideas again you will have a dated letter to prove you had the design first. I think banks and solicitors also offer this for about £50 xxx

This is good advice, and it's what I did when I first started trading in my company name - it's a legit way of showing you had this name first.
I'm sorry that you've had such a blatant copy of your business, I'd be as pee'd off too.
Seek legal advice visit the Citizens Advice Bureau - it's for for one thing.

Think about the the laws of 'Slander',as that could get you into trouble.

I'd want to rip her head of and **** down her neck, as you do, but seek legal advice.
Get all you proofs & invoices for your marketing material and take it with you.
Then, get everyone you can to ring her - naughty, but hey - she's a nasty piece of work.

 

[Katykitten]

You've been given some great advice

I would definately not let her get away with it

I would give her a call and tell her that you worded all your own promotional materials and could she please reword her advertisements

If she then still doesn't do anything, either get a solicitor or a friend pretending to be a solicitor to call her

I feel for you, something similar happened to me, it's a horrible feeling xx

 

[Terese]

As they say buisness is buisness and she has certainly made her point of taking your buisness words and all.

If you can find out her address write to her recorded, explaining that she is in breech of copyright and request her to stop using your items etc with immediate effect. Dont be slanderous how very hard it might be.

Trouble is...unless you have been trading for years, are well established etc etc etc whos to say you didnt take it from her! thats the way of the world, its sad but a very cruel fact.

Not a nice situation to be in....but be the better therapist

 

[jcpark]

I completely understand how upset you are... it happened to me and I only discovered when a client of mine sent me the brochure they have received asking what I thought of this company and they had copied it word for word from my website....including a typo :irked:

Copyright is automatic, so as long as you can show the dates you had yours printed etc, then there should be a problem. After numerous emails and phone calls went unanswered we sent a solicitors letter, sent by recorded delivery, asking them to remove it with immediate effect. They ended up altering the words, but they didn't have the same name.

As for the name, that only applies to Ltd companies, but there is a company that offers a registration (and insurance) that covers legal fees if someone in your area starts up a business of the same name. I was registered with them years ago, but can't remember who they were. I'll go through my paperwork tomorrow and see if I can dig the info out.

 

[Tazzy]

**Warning!! Rant ahead!!!!**

Thought I would come on here and vent my anger!! Im a fellow mobile spray tanner and I have spent a lot of time, money an effort making just the right adverts and flyers and websites to try and target just who I wanted it to be aimed at. I've had 2000 leaflets printed and made various online adverts and now some cheating scumbag has just come along and copy and pasted every single word i've written onto her advert and I mean absolutely word for word with the same spacing and text and just put her telephone number at the bottom.

I wouldnt mind so much if they worked in a different city. But she is in MY TOWN!!! And has used MY business name!!!! Which is going to confuse my clients and in turn lose me money!

She's copied my exact price, all my special offers and my slogans that took me weeks to come up with. I just dont know what to do, im crying one minute and screaming the next. And yes I am hormonal but still lol

I cant believe someone would do that!! And I dont even think I can do anything about it! I've got her number off 'her' (my) advert but I dont know what to do with it... any suggestions???? Or shall I just suck it up and be the more mature person??

Sorry for the long one, im just sooooo annoyed I cant even think, my partner has already chucked me out of the room for doing his head in lol

Nevermind. If you want some really original thinking for posters/ flyers /promotions, I can create them for you in a way that no other salon can use them. If theyre branded to your salon then they only work with your salon.

 

[tog]

If thats no good get all your friends and family to make bogus calls, hundreds of them so that she'll never, ever know which calls are genuine and which aren't.

Although I agree with the sentiment behind this, if your competitor is such a scheming cow, she might guess what's happening and start to do the same to you, and before too long it could escalate into turf wars or worse. . . whereas with the legal approach she's on a hiding to nothing as you can prove you had those leaflets printed before her.

Good luck whatever you decide.
I think you're right to say that in the morning you'll see things more clearly. And I always say what goes around comes around, so she will get her come-uppence.

 

[Kim-Sparkle]

There has been such good advice on here, im so glad I decided to share my problem.
I have got proof of dates and things, I had my flyers made up by vistaprint so got receipts and things. I also had the offer expiry date printed on some of the flyers which was back last year.
I've got a feeling it's a recent thing that she's done this, so im just glad i've found out early on so I can nip it in the bud now rather than have my clients start calling her thinkin she is me.

Im all for a little bit of healthy competition as it keeps you on your toes, im a firm believer in 'if you dont look after your clients, someone else will' but its so frustrating when you work so hard just for someone to come along and try to sabotage you in one swoop.

But thank you so much everyone, you have helped more than you'd ever know! xxx

 

[Esthetician]

Here is an article on the subject found in the articles section of this group.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Protect your work "Copyright" it
Well its not nice when you spend time and effort on wording and designing your website, or other worded stuff, for someone who has obviously not got an ounce of decency to just come and take all the good bits and use them.
But thats life, what can you do? Well you can protect your material by adding a little footnote to your home page.
What is a copyright notice?
A piece of text which accompanies a work and expresses the rights and wishes of the owner(s).

Do I need a notice?
It is strongly recommended that you include one on your work, it will:
Announce that copyright exists in the work.
Make it clear who is the owner.
Deter infringement.
By having a copyright notice you are helping to prevent infringement occurring.

©
The normally recognised symbol. Most countries across the world accept this as the correct manner of displaying copyright.
All rights reserved
Your footnote should be a simple cover all statement. This is the most commonly used statement, and perhaps the clearest, and covers most eventualities. It simply means that you withhold all rights to the maximum extent allowable under law.
Remember, copyright notices are straightforward statements, there is no need to get tied up with legal jargon, the point is to state your wishes clearly and succinctly.
Year of publication
In case of a dispute of ownership of a work, the date plays an important part. If your work was developed and published before any potential opponents then you can usually expect to win any case which challenges your rights.
In the case of work which is continually updated, (for example a web site), the year of publication may be shown as a period from first publication until the most recent update, (i.e. 2000-2004)
Copyright owner’s name
This may only be one person, or it may be a collective, a band, group or team for example.
If there is one person who owns the rights to a work, then his/her name will appear on its own. If however, your work is owned by several people then you may choose to include the name of each member of the collective, or include the name of the collective itself.
This would give your copyright notice the following appearance:
Copyright © 2008 (then add your name)
Webpages should have this little note on every page.
You can watermark all your pictures, do this in such a way that no matter how hard they crop and edit the picture it remains clearly visible.

For more information and guidance have a look here:
The UK Copyright Service - Intellectual property registration centre

 

[High Hopes]

whilst u figure out what you want to do i would start with contacting all my clients (email, text whatever) warning them that this company is not you, and has nothing to do with you. Atleast then you wont end up losing any of your existing client base.