My design was copied, how do I handle it?

[#1]

I just started selling on Etsy less than a month ago, at the time I made sure no one has similar items as mine.

This morning I was working on SEO and went to check my result by searching for my own items. Before I found my own listing I found a very similar item! It's using same material, very similar shape, the only difference is that it's hanging at a different spot! It made my stomach churn!

What should I do? Do I contact the other seller politely? If so, what should I say?

I'm aware that this happens a lot, maybe I'm over-reacting because I was new and this was the first time it happened to me. But this definitely ruined my weekend :(

[PithAndRootStudio]

Whenever a thread like this pops up in the forums, I think that this is the dark side of crafting for a living in a capitalist age. For centuries, people crafted, handed designs down, sharing techniques and materials with others. Even visual artists considered themselves craftspeople in the Middle Ages. They shared techniques, designs, and reference material. The best artists were not the most original but the most skilled.

I guess my point is this - there are always going to be waves of people making similar items on Etsy. It's bound to happen with 800,000 sellers (and growing).

My advice is not to confront the person. If they have no idea you exist and they honestly came by the idea, imagine how it would feel to have someone making an accusation like that. And even if they did outright copy you, the best thing is to shake it off and keep working. Strive for excellence as much as originality, because perfection is not easily copied.

[Former_Member]

I agree with not contacting the person. When I first started selling on etsy there were very few people selling paper quilled jewelry. As the months passed I created more and more designs that I thought of myself. After awhile I started seeing more sellers with similar designs to my own. Perhaps some of them really did think of the designs on their own. Perhaps some were inspired by my designs. All I can do is feel flattered that I may be an I aspiration, and continue to expand my own design line. If this person copies every single design of yours and/or steals your exact photos, then you might think of contacting them. But as it is, it is not worth it.

[TerraRhapsody]

I have to agree with a few people here and say 'leave it alone'. Its a hideously complex matter to get into, and unless you have proof that they've copied your design exactly, there would be little that can be done. They could have been selling that item in a different place on the internet, in their bricks and mortar store, or just on etsy without have having seen it.
They might claim that YOU stole it from them if they turned out to have created their first. There is also the possibility of an organic idea, i.e. someone thinking OMG- I have an awesome idea, creating it, and then finding out someone else has a similar design elsewhere. It's a coincidence that could befall anyone on here. There are only so many ideas in the world, I think
One thing I've seen on etsy (amongst other places) that really annoys me is when a seller puts a disclaimer up on their shop listings basically saying that everything is their own design and that anyone else anywhere in the world with a similar one has copied them and must be reported. Even when they have a 'new' design that looked an awful lot similar to someone else's design that I'd seen years before, they still had the message up. Their message said to me "I made everything here, anyone else with anything similar has copied me" which is a load of rubbish. I'm sure if I approached that person and told them I'd seen their 'original designs' in a gift shop 15 years ago, that I was lying and that their designs were not copied. They might not be copied, but it's an unfair disclaimer to make.
I've had people make very similar designs to mine and sold them for much less, which I take in my stride. I like to believe that those people thought them up organically, by themselves, rather than copying my work. And if they did copy, it just means they have no originality and there's little I can do.

The only way to really make sure your design is not taken is to take out a trademark or patent on it BEFORE you begin selling it on the internet. I've been sent a cease and desist notice from a company before for violating their trademark. This was a huge shock to me, as it was something I didn't think could be trademarked, nor was it something I'd seen anyone else create before, but sure enough, I complied. Life is unfortunately like that.

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

Christa Cunningham from WintergreenDesign says

Copy cats are always a step behind because they have to wait for you to be creative : )

^^^^Best quote ever^^^^

[Former_Member]

I personally would not send a note I do not think it will help and possibly back fire what if they say I have been selling this for so long and can back it up with sold purchase before you got on then what, sometimes I think these things happen as great minds think alike and with what 800,000 members on etsy I do not know if you saw everyone what if someone was on vacation or taking a break to many variables
I would just keep an eye out

[TerraRhapsody]

I should also perhaps note that I was once called out on an art website for 'copying' someone, which deeply upset me, especially considering my work was vastly different to hers.
I'd been commenting on the work of this girl for months. She did beautiful glass vials filled with liquid and gemstones and bits of plant, and while she sold them as healing talismans, I liked them because they were aesthetically pleasing to me. I'm a geologist, so I don't really believe in rock healing.
Then one day, she looked into my online gallery and called me brazen for copying her idea, as in there, she found a glass vial pendant that I'd made. However, the glass vial pendants I'd created were nothing even close to hers. The only similarity was that they were glass vials. Literally the only similarity. Like she was the only person in the world allowed to make jewellery out of glass receptacles.
And her work hadn't even been the reason I'd started making glass vial pendants. When I was 8, a friend of mine has come back from a holiday abroad with a tiny glass vial containing a miniature blue flower, and I thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world. 10 years later when I found ebay and people selling glass vials, I decided to try making some of my own, so I did. I'm not sure the girl ever spoke to me as a human being after that day.

[Former_Member]

Maybe you have started the latest upcycling trend. Like making bracelets from coke can tabs.