Great, a spy has infiltrated my page

[pageantmama]

I posted about the women that I was working for and she screwed me over by not paying me after I sent her the suits I made. And how she stole other designers work. Well I just figured something out. I did a new style of dress, a tank style dress with a split in it with ruffles and a flower and then ruffles on the top, and a matching top hat. Before our fallout she was asking me about it. I didn't want to really give her any info on it since I was trying to sell it under my name and did not want to start making them for her to sell. I got an order for one the other day and noticed it was being shipped to the same town as she is in. I did a little digging and not only is the woman that ordered it the mom of one of her models that made it in the magazine, she is also a fan of her business page AND a friend of her daughter. I have a feeling that the lady will be making a version of my dress soon I had already made it and was at the post office filling out the slip when it hit me or I would have refused the order. Then when I went home and done my little investigation I could have smacked myself. Why does it seem like I am such an easy target to be screwed over?

[barainga]

Youre not Im sure. But some people work really hard and get really good at hurting and taking advantage of others. Id say if you notice her making knockoffs of your work, blacklist her zipcode if you can afford to.

[XCashier]

Is there anyone you can notify about this woman? I don't know if you belong to any guild or union, but even other designers?

[emax4]

Maybe you need to start accepting payments in person, in cash. I'm wondering that you're not just the only one she's ripped off, but not the only designer that this is happening to either.

[bainsidhe]

Not sure how you would word it, but is there a polite way of sending a "your order has been sent!" email with a tag-line that not only thanks her for her purchase of a one-of-a-kind-original-by-Pagentmama outfit, but maybe you can include a small footnote blurb along the lines of:

This copyrighted original pattern is the sole ownership of Pagentmama. Only Pagentmama has the right to create and sell a partial or complete outfit using this pattern, under penalty of law.

Okay okay, I'm not a lawyer and am just trying to sound self-important. But perhaps sounding authoritative may deter would-be thieves from outright pattern-theft.

[Kristev]

But it is her intellectual property. There's nothing wrong with her mentioning this in her emails or receipts.

[Yarnil]

I would.

You worked hard on your design, and protection in the mail is a good way to start.

[Geek King]

Check the laws to be sure, but most items that can be considered art are protected by copyright automatically. Since a pagent dress is not exactly practical clothing, it might fall under that bit of patent law. Worst case, you can file for a patent fairly cheaply if the design is that important.

[cinema guy]

One thing I have heard about protecting copyright for writing was to date the story/article/whatever and post it to your self. Get proof of posting and keep the unopened envelope. So then you have legal proof that the work is yours, should you need it.

That might work for your pattern.

[pageantmama]

Check the laws to be sure, but most items that can be considered art are protected by copyright automatically. Since a pagent dress is not exactly practical clothing, it might fall under that bit of patent law. Worst case, you can file for a patent fairly cheaply if the design is that important.

It is not really that the design is that important to me, it is the principle of it. Considering how bad she did me and how I know most of her "original designs" are knockoffs of other designers.

[Moosenogger]

I think you should post pics of the dress on your site first, so she can't say you somehow "stole" the idea from her. Keep all the emails you passed around concerning the dress, and stalk her pages to make sure she's not listing any "OMG THIS IS TOTALLY MY IDEA!" dresses in the near future.

(I also think you should take her to court over the lost $300. This woman needs a reality check.)

[Marszenka]

www.myfreecopyright.com

Take a photo of the dress, upload it, make a blurb about the style. I've used this for my characters and writing, and as far as I can tell it works very well. It will time stamp and date as well.

[pageantmama]

www.myfreecopyright.com

Take a photo of the dress, upload it, make a blurb about the style. I've used this for my characters and writing, and as far as I can tell it works very well. It will time stamp and date as well.

Thank you! I will do that, and also do that for some other things I am working on as well!

[zzapp the witch]

Please don't be angry with me, I only ask because I got mad at the person that told me this, it was a jagged pill to swallow. (Don't worry I apologized when I pulled my head out of where it was).

Your PATTERN may be protected by copyright, but her making your dresses and selling them is not. She's not selling your pattern at that point, she's selling her handiwork.

Its like to magazines in the store, I can take a jacket I like, make some for sale to other people and its legit, I just can't SELL THE PATTERN. That's it.

I've had people copy my jewelry and all too, reverse engineer techniques I (think) I invented, etc. And there's nothing you can do to a person selling the work of a new dress that they themselves have made.

We can "principle of the thing" all day long, but the fact remains that some people do not have principles, and there's not much recourse against them.

I'd suggest getting your work recognized, put it up on the net where people can see it, and even offer to sell the pattern to people. At the very least this un-principled woman can't claim that she "designed" it. Or if that window is open for her, close it as soon as you can.

Rise above the situation and cover your ass as best you can.

[Mystic]

www.myfreecopyright.com

Take a photo of the dress, upload it, make a blurb about the style. I've used this for my characters and writing, and as far as I can tell it works very well. It will time stamp and date as well.

The problem with that is that, depending on the situation, it won't stand up in court. Many courts will only recognize items that are actually registered with the copyright office. It's a very common misconception based on a good idea someone had about mailing yourself information and leaving it sealed with the date on it. The problem is, when contested, it comes down to who has done the proper procedures to secure their intellectual property.

In this situation, I would look into getting a trademark and making an LLC. By working under your own company brand, you can protect yourself and your products. However, you will also at that point have the responsibility to actually contest people you find infringing on your work.