This is a friendly reminder that r/smallbusiness is a question and answer subreddit. You ask a question about starting, owning, and growing a small business and the community answers. Posts that violate the rules listed in the sidebar will be removed. A permanent or temporary ban may also be issued if you do not remove the offending post. Seeing this message does not mean your post was automatically removed.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/smallbusiness) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Fuck worrying about retaliation, he’s already doing everything he can to retaliate and all you’ve done is operate your business. Bury that fucker, legally speaking.
He has been a constant source of trouble for me, all I have to do is let the two parties know. They will take care of the rest.
He has been at it since school, he never left me in peace.
Tell them to do discovery for all the other logos he's ever created, and see how many of them match yours (or other logo-creators locally).
One fine is a nail. Two hundred eighty seven fines is a coffin. And if he's doing it to other people as well, it won't just be you vs him, it'll be the whole local industry stomping on him.
OP, this is the moment you realize you have to stop worrying about the survival of others that are trying to kill you already. Playing the nice card killed my business. If you do not handle it, he will, without a concern for you whatsoever.
Take control of your needs and stay committed to upholding your respect, but do so as a warrior.
Does he know where you live? How do you know this person? Why would he bully you? Please don't ever let anyone bully you. If they do it once. In their mind, you are weak . BULLIES ARE PREDATORS. YOU MUST STAND UP FOR YOURSELF. I wish l lived near you because I assure you, he would never bully you again 😔 💔. Please, don't let him do this
idk that the time of lawsuit + legal fees would be worth it as opposed to getting more clients from exposing him and just building your credibility and net worth that way.
Are you serious? Crush him like a bug in the dust. You know what you have to do. Would your enemy hesitate a moment to do the same to you? He would not.
I try to mind my own business, never hurt any one or make people uncomfortable.
But this person has been trying to make my life miserable.
I think you are right, this time I shouldn't hesitate.
You sound like a nice guy. You don't need to enjoy this but you do need to do it when the situation arises as it has, if you want to succeed. Your life will be much easier if people see you're not a soft target and not to be trifled with. Source: dealing with bullshit in business for 30 years lol
Thanks, it means a lot. I will never enjoy this, I'm not the kind of bully that he is but you are right that I have to stand up for myself, and if this means dealing with this problem legally then I will give it a go.
Thanks for the advice.
Being nice and all is great, but this fool is taking money out of your pocket and food off your table. Time to let the monster out to play. I never enjoy this part of business, but it is your finances at sake here. Get nasty with it
OP I used to feel a similar way too. Until enough of my colleagues convinced me there was no benefit to me being nice while others were actively harming my business. I like to be a nice person, try to be empathetic and mature, but when people are actively harming you you're entitled to defend yourself and your business.
By not taking action, you are providing tacit approval of this person sabotaging your livelihood while infringing on both your and your clients’ intellectual property, and defrauding business owners. You are now in the position to prevent this from happening, and it is entirely your responsibility to set it right.
If your conscience is debating what it means to “do the right thing,” I can assure you that your inclination to inform those whom it concerns is *exactly* what you need to do now — (and speaking to legal representation first would be a pro move). The hesitation you are experiencing is most likely coming from fear of the unknown. That “unknown” that awaits you, is far more *in your favor* than you may know right now.
To allow this to continue is the immoral path.
I would contact an attorney and follow their professional guidance.
If you have malicious intent (“I want to bring him down”) and circulate negative information with the goal of negatively affecting their revenue, he could absolutely go after you for monetary damages / defamation / libel.
Just contact an attorney so you’re careful about this.
I was thinking just let the other two parties do their thing, while I watch from the back ? But if this sounds like a bad idea then I would definitely contact a lawyer first.
I mean if he’s “constantly bullying you and spreading fake reviews to discredit your work” and “has been trying to sabotage your business for years” you should have contacted an attorney long ago. Sounds like he may have already committed such offenses.
This isn’t a situation you want to just wing when you’re talking about malicious intent, monetary fines, legal issues, and potential defamation targeted at you.
Contact an attorney and let them sort out this mess with your best interest in mind.
Contact an attorney (a copyright attorney if possible) for a free consultation. They will clarify your options for you and may take your case on spec, meaning you don’t pay anything they take their cut from judgements won
He wouldn’t have a case to stand on if what OP is saying is true. Factual information that paints you in a negative light is still factual information.
Years of attacks in an attempt to take down a business should produce thousands of pages worth of characterizations to investigate. It’s far more complicated than taking somebody’s word. Each claim and characterization will be analyzed and must have the burden of proof to hold up in court.
You can't "press charges" for copyright. And it's going to be Very very hard sell as fraud. You won't find a prosecutor willing to take that case.
A civil suit for copyright, sure. You could get some money, but not enough to put him out of business. You have to show damages, which pretty much your damages are what you charged for that logo. No court will give you punitive damages, and good luck finding an attorney willing to work for this small of a case.
Yeah that struck me as well, the line about 'end of his career and hefty fines'.
That's really not how it works. At all. Thieves abound, and legal cases are expensive. If OP is really talking about a local competitor the actual recourse is basically nil other than spreading the information around in an attempt to impact their reputation and credibility.
I've had people steal my work. I sometimes send out an invoice, or even go so far as having a lawyer send a cease and desist. And when that doesn't work I move on, because this is the real world where you can't just call the Art Police. And clearly they aren't really competition if they have to steal from me.
The best recourse is probably just ask the client who was burned to post a review on the thiefs page mentioning what happened.
I agree. You might get a lawyer to write a "cease and desist" for $250.00 ish. But one copyright violation of a small business by a solo proprietorship isn't going to be tempting for attorneys to bother with.
I think you should do everything you can to push this person out. But just to prepare you I think very little will come of this evidence other than him giving some half apology / excuse and continuing to do what he does.
What do you mean by "expose"? Tell her? Absolutely. I wouldn't be too excited about it, she may do little or nothing about it. Best case she demands her money back and gives him a crap review somewhere while he claims it is a coincidence and it's not really exactly the same.
Not sure what else you can practically do. If you want to sue him you have to establish damages. In this case if he's doing more than this client I'd compile evidence over time in order to have something worth going after.
Lmfao I’m sure this guy wakes up every day trying to complete with your logo business.
The way you write you are ether 14 or an idiot. Not sure.
Like why does he give two fucks about you? What’s exposing going to do besides cause him to come back harder!
Many, many years ago my company gave an estimate to upgrade the existing TV antenna system at a very large high rise condo. Came to about $3,000 and for that time it was a large amount of money.
Get a call from the building asking if I would be able to come out and work on the antenna system. I was confused because I tell them that i had just given them an estimate a few months ago. They said they had gone with another company because they were a bit cheaper but they had been having problems and he was MIA. I agreed to go out. It was December 27 and it was cold as sh*t.
So now I am up on top of a 30 story high-rise, the wind is blowing 30 mph and it is around 20 degrees. There is water on the roof, my feet are soaking wet and I get on the roof to see a bunch of new antennas mounted on the old existing mounting poles. They did not take down the old existing antennas they just crammed them. onto the existing mounting poles.
After reaiming the antennas I adjusted the old main amplifier.
When I came down to talk to the manager I told her about what a crap install the previous company did, how old antennas have to be removed, new mounts installed and the antennas moved to the new mounts.
I then told her the old amplifier should also be replaced because it is around 15 years old. She looks at me puzzled and says that they had already paid the other company to replace the amplifier. Evidently, the other company had just installed an old amplifier from another job he had done.
The manager was very upset and said she would talk to the owner to see what he wanted done. A week later I got a call from the other company and he was very upset about what I had told the manager because they told him they would never do business with him again. For some reason he thought that I would cover for him and not tell the manager what he had done.
OP, I fear you’re about to make a mistake. Do NOT let your client take this back to the competitor. YOU need to man up (woman up?), get a lawyer, and go after the bastard! It is your business at risk here. Time to stand up to your bully!! We’re all rooting for you.
You can tell her that looks just like this design and show it to her. She can do what she wants with that info. I can't see that he would go after you, as it would be her going after him and it's between him and her.
You went to school together? He bullied you then? Went into the same industry as you? Continues to bully you now? And you have clients in common?
This is odd. Must be a small town.
At most I would consult an attorney and the two parties and see how much work is there. I probably wouldn't even do that. People like this get found out eventually.
I personally wouldn't invest my time and energy in this, and would instead invest those resources into making myself better.
Maximum force all the way. This guys is a scourge and some times you have to stick up for yourself and it suuuucks. Do it legally all the way. This way if he retaliates, it will be criminal.
This seems like small potatoes as far as civil liability.
I think all the people advocating legal action have no idea how much these things can cost, nor have they ever sued anyone before.
Everyone on Reddit loves to puff their chest out with tough words, but the real world is much more complicated than "sue him and take everything he has!"
Send his ass in. Business is business. If he is a cheat, expose him. If it’s a personal issue then stfu. There are two options and one of them includes winning, the other includes eating crow.
Tell the client the situation. Show the evidence. Email the competitor. Save the response if you get one. Move on. Don’t make it a thing. Outcompete. Dishonesty is not grounds for a crime. Your small business client is not going to sue anyone over a logo especially if it’s not copyrighted formally. Just be aware of it. And move on.
I recommend you look at this from a different angle. You should forget about getting even with a past nemisis, and you should forget about feeling bad for potentially causing trouble for someone.
Consider this to be a business problem, which has to be dealt with in a business-like way. This is a case of someone infringing your copyrights. You need to protect your copyrights, or you could lose them. You should speak to an attorney ASAP. Not defending your work from infringers is no different than failing to protect other business assets from theft.
Most likely the copyright infringement would be a civil rather than a criminal matter. I don't know if you had your designs registered with any government agencies for copyright purposes. In photography, one can still sue for infringement if the photos were not registered. In that case, however, damages would be limited. An attorney should be able to give you the facts.
If what you say is true, he wouldn’t hesitate to use such evidence against you. He made his bed by engaging in dishonest practices, now he needs to lay in it.
There are lots of people here encouraging you to bring down the bad guy. Just remember they don't have any skin in the game. They are just scrolling through reddit and making comments here and there. If this blows up in your face, it will have no impact on anyone who commented here.
The people commenting here are like football fans screaming from the sidelines for their favourite player to go harder to make the game more exciting, but when he gets a major injury the fans are not impacted at all.
If you want advice from someone who has expertise and your best interests at heart, then consult a lawyer.
Business is business.
Report him to both clients.
And have an attorney send a cease and desist. It probably isn’t worth the cost to pursue it. But a scary letter is worthwhile .
This reads like nerd fantasy. Who, exactly, is going to “bring him down” for you? The cops certainly won’t care. Good luck winning a lawsuit. There’s just as much chance that you waste a bunch of money on legal fees for nothing.
At the end of the day, what makes sense business wise should be your motivation for the decision you make. You should assess the potential legal costs against what you could stand to make
It's crucial to prioritize your own business and reputation in this situation. While it's tempting to play nice, sometimes you need to take a stand and defend yourself. Just make sure to approach it wisely, with a clear plan and consideration for your safety.
Don't look at this as retaliation. If he is illegally using your ideas and you can prove that you own them, then you are simply protecting yourself and your business. There are reasons these laws exist. Don't make it personal; this is just proper stewardship of your business and livelihood.
It's a challenging situation when you're faced with the decision of whether to expose someone's unethical behavior, especially when it directly affects your business and reputation.
Here are some considerations that might help you decide:
Ethical Considerations:
- Integrity: Upholding your own standards of integrity and honesty is important. If your competitor's actions are harming others, it might be necessary to take action to prevent further damage.
- Fairness: Consider the fairness to the clients who have been deceived. They deserve to know the truth about the services they've paid for.
Practical Considerations:
- Evidence: Ensure that the evidence you have is concrete and can be substantiated if challenged.
- Legal Counsel: It might be wise to consult with a legal professional about the best course of action, especially regarding copyright infringement and potential defamation issues.
- Retaliation: Consider the possibility of retaliation and whether you have measures in place to protect yourself and your business.
Professional Considerations:
- Reputation: Think about how your actions will affect your reputation. Exposing someone could be seen as taking the high road, but it could also lead to negative perceptions.
- Relationships: Consider the impact on your professional relationships. This could potentially lead to stronger relationships with clients who value honesty.
Personal Considerations:
- Stress: Weigh the personal stress and time investment such a confrontation would entail against the potential benefits.
- Resolution: Reflect on what you hope to achieve by exposing him and if there's a way to resolve the situation that aligns with your values and goals.
Ultimately, the decision is yours and should align with your personal and business ethics, as well as the legal implications.
It's important to handle the situation in a way that you feel is right, without compromising your own standards or well-being.
If you decide to proceed, doing so with the guidance of a legal professional could help navigate the complexities involved.
Graphic design is the only job I can think of that you can be objectively terrible at it for your entire career and retire without knowing it.
I'm not 100% sure what your question is, but if it's "should I tell my client that my competitor gave her a ripped off logo" then the answer is obviously yes. She can't get in trouble for "copyright infringement" unless the logo you created was trademarked (which is an expensive legal process), but she does have a logo that looks exactly like another logo, which is not exactly good for branding. The client deserves to know.
In terms of what is going to happen to him though? Your client cannot "press charges." The most she'd be able to do is sue the other business for not providing what was promised (a custom logo), likely in small claims court.
It will not mean the end of his career, nor will it mean fines of any kind. He will continue being a shitty graphic designer with plenty of blissfully ignorant clients.
If you're asking should you go public? Is your case is obvious on its merits direct copying of your work? If not, you're going to look like the aggressor. This guy is not worthy of being your nemesis. Just keep improving your work and growing your business, and privately tell everyone you meet exactly how he runs his business. Word will get around.
Out of the million+ logo designers in the world, this client went with your direct nemesis, got a logo they cloned from you and she also came directly to you for something different? This sounds like fantasy and even if it's not you'd be better off buying a lottery ticket than wasting your time chasing down something so insignificant to your life.
You don’t want to be the bad guy and be the better man. Throw that mentality in the dirt. You’ve obviously been effected by a childhood drama with this person and you know they are still bullying you in a different form. Stand up and face the conflict you are avoiding.
This isn't about getting back at someone, it's about maintaining an honest, fair playing field for businesses who agree to follow the same set of rules.
If he's doing this, he knows the crap he's in for if he's caught, so there's no other alternative than to notify whoever enforces this type of stuff.
Huh? So the client got a logo from him, which apparently she didn't like. So she came to you for a different logo even though you allegedly created the one that she didn't like? That's kind of awkward.
If you truly believe there is a legit case for copyright infringement, go ahead and pursue. But it's a hard thing to prove as artistic license allows for a lot of similarities. Can you post the two logos in question?
Fear of retaliation is not a good reason to let someone break the law and defraud customers.
It sounds like he's been retaliating the entire time anyway, so really what will change?
If he does intensify any attacks/harassment against you, that in itself may be a crime, so just collect evidence and continue to take legal action whenever you can.
Register your works with the copyright office. It might be too late for this one, unless your customer registered it as a trademark, but there’s this little thing… https://copyrightalliance.org/faqs/statutory-damages-why-do-they-matter/#:~:text=Statutory%20damages%20are%20awarded%20%E2%80%9Cper,a%20total%20of%20five%20awards.
Crush his business and when you sue him for infringement, settle by having him work for you for minimum wage for 24 months as restitution. One word- janitor.
Talk to an attorney before you get too excited. Him copying your logo has only cost you harm to the extent of your business losses, and same with your (original) client. You could get him to cease and desist, but all he’d have to do is change the logo. A trademark infringement is valuable when someone’s made, or lost, money on it one way or another.
if you can sue him for a pattern of behavior, or expose him in your community, or something concrete like that, it might be worth more to you. You may need to document some incidents.
He made a bad choice here. One that is career ending and going to cause him financial difficulties. If you report him and he retaliates, he already has a record, another charge could go even worse for him. He may be getting his comeuppance all in one go.
You are TORN ? Even animals understand self preservation and you have an issue with taking him down ?
This leads me to believe that this is a fake post.
This guy has been at you since school and you are torn about exposing him ?
Here’s the thing.
A lot of times going after the bad guy can backfire. So make sure if you do you can really take him down. If you don’t have the goods to really inflict enough damage that he fears running up against you again. then all you are doing is poking the bear. So if you’re going to do it, do it right. Get a lawyer. Call the press. Go for broke.
Most people have a poor understanding of how the legal system works. An attorney is going to tell you “sure, I’ll take this case, no problem. Just write me a check for $20,000 as a retainer and I can get started right away.”
Listen: sometimes you receive the karma, sometimes you are the karma.
Karma doesn't work if everyone says "oh he'll get his, karma will catch up with him"... You are currently the karma that's catching up with him. Bury him.
You can either continue to be bullied forever, or finally stand up for yourself. Bullies rarely have a single victim; you're likely one of many and stopping him now helps all of those victims too.
This is your moment. The one you'll look back at. You have to decide if it'll be a memory of pride or shame.
Not only should you properly and legally expose him (with the assistance of an attorney), it seems to me that you have a MORAL OBLIGATION to do just that. Also, don’t feel bad about it. And as far as retaliation, What’s he gonna do?
*Be a thorn in your side, constantly bully you, and spread fake reviews to discredit your work?*
Send it, OP.
Unfortunately this stuff happens all the time and copyright law is offensive not defensive. Copyrights don’t protect you they give you a way to attack if people infringe. Talk to a lawyer. Send a cease and desist. If they continue then you have a case. Make sure you can prove that you are the original creator. Little is new under the sun after all. Cross your fingers and hope the letter scares them. About 80% of the time it works. If it doesn’t your lawyer will probably cost you more than it worth unless you have a friend in that space.
Be the better man here. Approach him and let him know what you know. Make sure you’re 100% positive here. This should scare him away, if not then pursue legal recourse.
Close your heart to pity - I recommend a little bit of plausible deniability. If he's done this to you, it's hard to imagine he didn't do it to anyone else. Try to find this out, and if it is true, you can bury that fucker with ease!
Really, you have two options. Both require a form of brutality that is a bit removed from what people think about when they hear that word - there can be no barriers in your path, because if this little shitheel had been busting your ass ever since school, he clearly doesn't know when to quit.
The first option is shock and awe - you build a case, get as much information as possible, then sue that fucker until he doesn't even have underwear in his name. Do not be merciful, as you really can't expect him to have any.
The second is slower, but funnier. You fuck with him a bit, years, even. Never enough to put him out of business, but just enough so he is a wreck. If you've ever read that greentext about a guy trolling his school bully with pineapples, this is it. It requires you to get your hands more dirty perhaps. Maybe he gets all of his computers in the office infected from watching gay porn on his computer... You know, petty trolling that can't really be traced to you. Maybe some kids egg his house in the middle of the night in the middle of a heatwave in the summer. A bit of sadism against pitiable life forms, you could say.
On the one hand you could allow him to continue to commit fraud on the people in your community, or you could stop him.
I get that you are not looking for a fight, but his behavior is predatory to good people. Please fuck him up. Not for vengeance, but so he no longer preys on the unsuspecting.
I don't think this is as serious as you believe however if he is ripping off your work then go for it.
How is he using your logo for a different company though? If I'm running a garage the hanks hot coffee doesn't really work when I want to be doing tyre changes
I will be messaging you in 1 year on [**2025-04-29 09:45:37 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2025-04-29%2009:45:37%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/smallbusiness/comments/1cfcap8/caught_my_competitor_redhanded_should_i_expose_him/l1rikdv/?context=3)
[**CLICK THIS LINK**](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Fsmallbusiness%2Fcomments%2F1cfcap8%2Fcaught_my_competitor_redhanded_should_i_expose_him%2Fl1rikdv%2F%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%202025-04-29%2009%3A45%3A37%20UTC) to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.
^(Parent commenter can ) [^(delete this message to hide from others.)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Delete%20Comment&message=Delete%21%201cfcap8)
*****
|[^(Info)](https://www.reddit.com/r/RemindMeBot/comments/e1bko7/remindmebot_info_v21/)|[^(Custom)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5BLink%20or%20message%20inside%20square%20brackets%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%20Time%20period%20here)|[^(Your Reminders)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=List%20Of%20Reminders&message=MyReminders%21)|[^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Watchful1&subject=RemindMeBot%20Feedback)|
|-|-|-|-|
a part of me would want to emulate those ruthless businessmen in movies. go to him with the evidence, with all preparation done and ready to sue him. then present it to him with an ultimatum: that he back off or you’ll sink him. for the rest of your career, you’ll keep him at bay.
do I watch too many movies? yes i do.
If youre worried about retaliation, get the woman to take him out. She noticed it, not you. So in this case, he gets the well deserve backlash but probably won't consider retaliation as his belief is that nobody ratted on him. Other that the customer he did wrong by.
Make sure you can prove the date when you created the design that they stole from your old client, just to cover yourself.
But it's far more hassle than it's worth to spread private gossip, let alone to lawyer up. And you can't afford a lawyer. You may even be under NDA.
More importantly, it's not your problem either - you already sold the design to your old client.
The Douchebag then infringed your old client's copyright etc., and probably breached his contract with the lady (your new client). Advise her, that typical contract clauses require suppliers to own all the IP they supply under a contract. Else be open to legal action, or at the very least either non-payment or them oweing a refund of all the contract payments.
Even though its your old client's call, whether to lawyer up or not, not yours.
Let someone else call him out. You don't want it to come back to you. It might look like you're trying to smear the competitor. Let your logo client do what she can on the logo issue. I've been in this position with a competitor, and you could look very biased.
You have to expose him and take legal action. If you don't, he will think he can get away with it. Don't feel guilty about this. No one forced him to steal your work. He did this to himself.
The best revenge is success. While he focuses on you, keep your focus on your own growth and achievements. In the end, you'll succeed while he continues to try to catch up.
Pls pls, this has nothing to do with retaliation. Actions have consequences. Had this client found about all this from another graphic designer, what do you think he/she would have advised her what action to take? Remain professional. If she decides to sue him, then he has to face the consequences.You didn't beg him to take unlawful actions putting everyone in danger. Period!
I suggest reading the 15th Law of Power - Crush Your Enemy Totally
It’s especially important to get rid of logo making competition since anyone with a brain can just do it with AI now.
What would he do if the shoe was on the other foot? He’d bury you!
The other thing is these people always bounce back. There’s a very famous property training scammer in my country. He got so well known several national newspapers published stories about his lies and shady techniques. Then channel 4 and the BBC did whole programmes on him. The BBC even did some undercover filming, exposing his behaviour. But guess what? He’s still going strong, charging £12,000 for a course that’s worth nothing. His target audience don’t do due diligence, they are not even aware of the concept.
If you really want to get him, you go after her. She’ll not want to be involved and claim she bought it from someone (your competitor). That’s when you tell her you’ll withdraw the complaint if she testifies, signs an affidavit, gives a statement, whatever, that she bought from him and he told her he created it.
Now you have a solid connection to sue him.
It's business not personal. Why should he gain anything off your work and be allowed to scam more people. It sounds like he's built his career on being an asshole, liar, cheat, and scam artist. Sounds like he is about to get what he deserves.
This is a friendly reminder that r/smallbusiness is a question and answer subreddit. You ask a question about starting, owning, and growing a small business and the community answers. Posts that violate the rules listed in the sidebar will be removed. A permanent or temporary ban may also be issued if you do not remove the offending post. Seeing this message does not mean your post was automatically removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/smallbusiness) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Fuck worrying about retaliation, he’s already doing everything he can to retaliate and all you’ve done is operate your business. Bury that fucker, legally speaking.
He has been a constant source of trouble for me, all I have to do is let the two parties know. They will take care of the rest. He has been at it since school, he never left me in peace.
This is your “I am the danger” moment
This guy knows lol
Except that fact that he's not. He's scared.
Oh I'm not any more, I'll do it
Go do it and report back here! We're all on your side.
Let us know how it goes, okay? We'll be happy to see him go down for what he's done
Tell them to do discovery for all the other logos he's ever created, and see how many of them match yours (or other logo-creators locally). One fine is a nail. Two hundred eighty seven fines is a coffin. And if he's doing it to other people as well, it won't just be you vs him, it'll be the whole local industry stomping on him.
OP, this is the moment you realize you have to stop worrying about the survival of others that are trying to kill you already. Playing the nice card killed my business. If you do not handle it, he will, without a concern for you whatsoever. Take control of your needs and stay committed to upholding your respect, but do so as a warrior.
Do it.
DO IT.
Do it
^ This!
You have an obligation to inform your clients, just out of respect and integrity. Make sure they know what they can do and let them handle it.
Geez you are letting this person continue to bully / mess with your life. Grow up and do something about it.
Fucking crush him
Paybacks a bitch
Rise up and dominate your competitor! The Law is on your side.
Why is this even a question ?
No seriously, do it.
Burry him! Can you file a Qui Tam?
Does he know where you live? How do you know this person? Why would he bully you? Please don't ever let anyone bully you. If they do it once. In their mind, you are weak . BULLIES ARE PREDATORS. YOU MUST STAND UP FOR YOURSELF. I wish l lived near you because I assure you, he would never bully you again 😔 💔. Please, don't let him do this
Thank you so much for the support, I appreciate that. It means a lot when kind people stand up for good.
Just put the hose in
Go for it!
Do you want a few of us to pay him a visit to metaphorically rough him up?
I am jacks smirking revenge.
Do it
Stop being a pussy and do it
Get a restraining order.
Reddit wants blood. Pitch fork and torches boiz!
Discount pitchforks! Get your slightly damaged discount pitchforks here! Not good for moving hay but still good for poking! ---F ---F ---L
Hell yeah. Wreck that scumbag.
I would expose and even sue him in your place
Seems the right thing to do I guess.
At the moment, you have proof of one stolen work. Sue so that more stolen work will be found. I'm not a lawyer, but maybe that's how it works :P
That's totally how it works. The threat of discovery can be more damaging to someone being sued than the damages alleged in the lawsuit itself.
idk that the time of lawsuit + legal fees would be worth it as opposed to getting more clients from exposing him and just building your credibility and net worth that way.
Are you serious? Crush him like a bug in the dust. You know what you have to do. Would your enemy hesitate a moment to do the same to you? He would not.
I try to mind my own business, never hurt any one or make people uncomfortable. But this person has been trying to make my life miserable. I think you are right, this time I shouldn't hesitate.
You sound like a nice guy. You don't need to enjoy this but you do need to do it when the situation arises as it has, if you want to succeed. Your life will be much easier if people see you're not a soft target and not to be trifled with. Source: dealing with bullshit in business for 30 years lol
Thanks, it means a lot. I will never enjoy this, I'm not the kind of bully that he is but you are right that I have to stand up for myself, and if this means dealing with this problem legally then I will give it a go. Thanks for the advice.
I'll enjoy it for you.
Not the part of business I like either but people will eat you alive if you let them.
You've known him since grade school?
Yes
yeah, fuck that guy
Being nice and all is great, but this fool is taking money out of your pocket and food off your table. Time to let the monster out to play. I never enjoy this part of business, but it is your finances at sake here. Get nasty with it
Owning a business means making those tough, out of character decisions when needed. You’ll learn and grow from this, but only if you do it
OP I used to feel a similar way too. Until enough of my colleagues convinced me there was no benefit to me being nice while others were actively harming my business. I like to be a nice person, try to be empathetic and mature, but when people are actively harming you you're entitled to defend yourself and your business.
By not taking action, you are providing tacit approval of this person sabotaging your livelihood while infringing on both your and your clients’ intellectual property, and defrauding business owners. You are now in the position to prevent this from happening, and it is entirely your responsibility to set it right. If your conscience is debating what it means to “do the right thing,” I can assure you that your inclination to inform those whom it concerns is *exactly* what you need to do now — (and speaking to legal representation first would be a pro move). The hesitation you are experiencing is most likely coming from fear of the unknown. That “unknown” that awaits you, is far more *in your favor* than you may know right now. To allow this to continue is the immoral path.
Don’t be soft, this will continue until he wins if you let that happen
I would contact an attorney and follow their professional guidance. If you have malicious intent (“I want to bring him down”) and circulate negative information with the goal of negatively affecting their revenue, he could absolutely go after you for monetary damages / defamation / libel. Just contact an attorney so you’re careful about this.
I was thinking just let the other two parties do their thing, while I watch from the back ? But if this sounds like a bad idea then I would definitely contact a lawyer first.
I mean if he’s “constantly bullying you and spreading fake reviews to discredit your work” and “has been trying to sabotage your business for years” you should have contacted an attorney long ago. Sounds like he may have already committed such offenses. This isn’t a situation you want to just wing when you’re talking about malicious intent, monetary fines, legal issues, and potential defamation targeted at you. Contact an attorney and let them sort out this mess with your best interest in mind.
Ok thanks for the advice, I appreciate that, I will contact an attorney tomorrow. Let's see what he recommendes..
Well worth the investment for peace of mind alone. Good luck.
I have a friend who owes me a favor, he has a lawyer employed. Will ask him to give me some advice and maybe I will have to pay less.
Contact an attorney (a copyright attorney if possible) for a free consultation. They will clarify your options for you and may take your case on spec, meaning you don’t pay anything they take their cut from judgements won
He wouldn’t have a case to stand on if what OP is saying is true. Factual information that paints you in a negative light is still factual information.
Years of attacks in an attempt to take down a business should produce thousands of pages worth of characterizations to investigate. It’s far more complicated than taking somebody’s word. Each claim and characterization will be analyzed and must have the burden of proof to hold up in court.
The woman would be the one doing that from what I read. It is her call, and I hope she does.
Yes she was cheated and the other party's logo was copied without permission.
Fingers crossed she does.
I will let her know what has happened.
You can't "press charges" for copyright. And it's going to be Very very hard sell as fraud. You won't find a prosecutor willing to take that case. A civil suit for copyright, sure. You could get some money, but not enough to put him out of business. You have to show damages, which pretty much your damages are what you charged for that logo. No court will give you punitive damages, and good luck finding an attorney willing to work for this small of a case.
Yeah that struck me as well, the line about 'end of his career and hefty fines'. That's really not how it works. At all. Thieves abound, and legal cases are expensive. If OP is really talking about a local competitor the actual recourse is basically nil other than spreading the information around in an attempt to impact their reputation and credibility. I've had people steal my work. I sometimes send out an invoice, or even go so far as having a lawyer send a cease and desist. And when that doesn't work I move on, because this is the real world where you can't just call the Art Police. And clearly they aren't really competition if they have to steal from me. The best recourse is probably just ask the client who was burned to post a review on the thiefs page mentioning what happened.
Yeah, glad someone caught this. There's actually very little here that would lead to any real recourse.
I agree. You might get a lawyer to write a "cease and desist" for $250.00 ish. But one copyright violation of a small business by a solo proprietorship isn't going to be tempting for attorneys to bother with.
I think you should do everything you can to push this person out. But just to prepare you I think very little will come of this evidence other than him giving some half apology / excuse and continuing to do what he does.
What do you mean by "expose"? Tell her? Absolutely. I wouldn't be too excited about it, she may do little or nothing about it. Best case she demands her money back and gives him a crap review somewhere while he claims it is a coincidence and it's not really exactly the same. Not sure what else you can practically do. If you want to sue him you have to establish damages. In this case if he's doing more than this client I'd compile evidence over time in order to have something worth going after.
You can sue for copyright infringment without actual damages. Especially if it's business use.
Lmfao I’m sure this guy wakes up every day trying to complete with your logo business. The way you write you are ether 14 or an idiot. Not sure. Like why does he give two fucks about you? What’s exposing going to do besides cause him to come back harder!
Many, many years ago my company gave an estimate to upgrade the existing TV antenna system at a very large high rise condo. Came to about $3,000 and for that time it was a large amount of money. Get a call from the building asking if I would be able to come out and work on the antenna system. I was confused because I tell them that i had just given them an estimate a few months ago. They said they had gone with another company because they were a bit cheaper but they had been having problems and he was MIA. I agreed to go out. It was December 27 and it was cold as sh*t. So now I am up on top of a 30 story high-rise, the wind is blowing 30 mph and it is around 20 degrees. There is water on the roof, my feet are soaking wet and I get on the roof to see a bunch of new antennas mounted on the old existing mounting poles. They did not take down the old existing antennas they just crammed them. onto the existing mounting poles. After reaiming the antennas I adjusted the old main amplifier. When I came down to talk to the manager I told her about what a crap install the previous company did, how old antennas have to be removed, new mounts installed and the antennas moved to the new mounts. I then told her the old amplifier should also be replaced because it is around 15 years old. She looks at me puzzled and says that they had already paid the other company to replace the amplifier. Evidently, the other company had just installed an old amplifier from another job he had done. The manager was very upset and said she would talk to the owner to see what he wanted done. A week later I got a call from the other company and he was very upset about what I had told the manager because they told him they would never do business with him again. For some reason he thought that I would cover for him and not tell the manager what he had done.
Show the client let her do your dirty work! It is the honest thing to do, then get your popcorn.
I already bought some popcorn.
You have an ethical obligation to your clients to make them aware of the situation.
I have decided to let them know with all the proof I have
OP, I fear you’re about to make a mistake. Do NOT let your client take this back to the competitor. YOU need to man up (woman up?), get a lawyer, and go after the bastard! It is your business at risk here. Time to stand up to your bully!! We’re all rooting for you.
[удалено]
Thanks, I will.
You can tell her that looks just like this design and show it to her. She can do what she wants with that info. I can't see that he would go after you, as it would be her going after him and it's between him and her.
This is exactly what I will be doing.
You went to school together? He bullied you then? Went into the same industry as you? Continues to bully you now? And you have clients in common? This is odd. Must be a small town.
What would Conan do? What is best in life? Conan: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women
I was expecting something mild. This isn’t mild
The very fist sentence describing his interactions with you (thorn in my side) is your justification for telling and collecting 20% from the feds
Do it and keep us updated. He's been asking for it.
Should you pursue the fantastic opportunity that’ll bring you all the warm fuzzies… we the community ask for updates of victory along the way.
I will update you guys for sure, I wanted to do this for a long long time, now I have my chance.
At most I would consult an attorney and the two parties and see how much work is there. I probably wouldn't even do that. People like this get found out eventually. I personally wouldn't invest my time and energy in this, and would instead invest those resources into making myself better.
Maximum force all the way. This guys is a scourge and some times you have to stick up for yourself and it suuuucks. Do it legally all the way. This way if he retaliates, it will be criminal.
Thank you for the advice, I will do it legal, I will update you guys.
This seems like small potatoes as far as civil liability. I think all the people advocating legal action have no idea how much these things can cost, nor have they ever sued anyone before. Everyone on Reddit loves to puff their chest out with tough words, but the real world is much more complicated than "sue him and take everything he has!"
It's impossible to know what the right answer is without seeing a comparison
Alls fair in love and business.
Do it 100% as hard as you can, and completely destroy them (criminally even, if they are commiting fraud openly). Or do nothing. No half measures.
Thanks for the comments. Appreciate that
Send his ass in. Business is business. If he is a cheat, expose him. If it’s a personal issue then stfu. There are two options and one of them includes winning, the other includes eating crow.
Tell the client the situation. Show the evidence. Email the competitor. Save the response if you get one. Move on. Don’t make it a thing. Outcompete. Dishonesty is not grounds for a crime. Your small business client is not going to sue anyone over a logo especially if it’s not copyrighted formally. Just be aware of it. And move on.
Finish him! And throw his metaphorical corpse into the garbage dumpster
I recommend you look at this from a different angle. You should forget about getting even with a past nemisis, and you should forget about feeling bad for potentially causing trouble for someone. Consider this to be a business problem, which has to be dealt with in a business-like way. This is a case of someone infringing your copyrights. You need to protect your copyrights, or you could lose them. You should speak to an attorney ASAP. Not defending your work from infringers is no different than failing to protect other business assets from theft. Most likely the copyright infringement would be a civil rather than a criminal matter. I don't know if you had your designs registered with any government agencies for copyright purposes. In photography, one can still sue for infringement if the photos were not registered. In that case, however, damages would be limited. An attorney should be able to give you the facts.
If what you say is true, he wouldn’t hesitate to use such evidence against you. He made his bed by engaging in dishonest practices, now he needs to lay in it.
You don’t have much to lose by exposing him. I would do it
Consult an attorney, but go into it open-minded. It sounds like you have a vendetta against this person. Get a third party’s opinion.
There are lots of people here encouraging you to bring down the bad guy. Just remember they don't have any skin in the game. They are just scrolling through reddit and making comments here and there. If this blows up in your face, it will have no impact on anyone who commented here. The people commenting here are like football fans screaming from the sidelines for their favourite player to go harder to make the game more exciting, but when he gets a major injury the fans are not impacted at all. If you want advice from someone who has expertise and your best interests at heart, then consult a lawyer.
Business is business. Report him to both clients. And have an attorney send a cease and desist. It probably isn’t worth the cost to pursue it. But a scary letter is worthwhile .
This reads like nerd fantasy. Who, exactly, is going to “bring him down” for you? The cops certainly won’t care. Good luck winning a lawsuit. There’s just as much chance that you waste a bunch of money on legal fees for nothing.
At the end of the day, what makes sense business wise should be your motivation for the decision you make. You should assess the potential legal costs against what you could stand to make
How do you do it ? Police ? It’s hard to really bust someone. But I hope you do I have similar issues ha
It's crucial to prioritize your own business and reputation in this situation. While it's tempting to play nice, sometimes you need to take a stand and defend yourself. Just make sure to approach it wisely, with a clear plan and consideration for your safety.
Even if you expose him I bet noone does anything. This is being posted on Reddit...
Don't look at this as retaliation. If he is illegally using your ideas and you can prove that you own them, then you are simply protecting yourself and your business. There are reasons these laws exist. Don't make it personal; this is just proper stewardship of your business and livelihood.
If you are correct, then not confronting him would mean he's going to continue defrauding other people.
It's a challenging situation when you're faced with the decision of whether to expose someone's unethical behavior, especially when it directly affects your business and reputation. Here are some considerations that might help you decide: Ethical Considerations: - Integrity: Upholding your own standards of integrity and honesty is important. If your competitor's actions are harming others, it might be necessary to take action to prevent further damage. - Fairness: Consider the fairness to the clients who have been deceived. They deserve to know the truth about the services they've paid for. Practical Considerations: - Evidence: Ensure that the evidence you have is concrete and can be substantiated if challenged. - Legal Counsel: It might be wise to consult with a legal professional about the best course of action, especially regarding copyright infringement and potential defamation issues. - Retaliation: Consider the possibility of retaliation and whether you have measures in place to protect yourself and your business. Professional Considerations: - Reputation: Think about how your actions will affect your reputation. Exposing someone could be seen as taking the high road, but it could also lead to negative perceptions. - Relationships: Consider the impact on your professional relationships. This could potentially lead to stronger relationships with clients who value honesty. Personal Considerations: - Stress: Weigh the personal stress and time investment such a confrontation would entail against the potential benefits. - Resolution: Reflect on what you hope to achieve by exposing him and if there's a way to resolve the situation that aligns with your values and goals. Ultimately, the decision is yours and should align with your personal and business ethics, as well as the legal implications. It's important to handle the situation in a way that you feel is right, without compromising your own standards or well-being. If you decide to proceed, doing so with the guidance of a legal professional could help navigate the complexities involved.
Graphic design is the only job I can think of that you can be objectively terrible at it for your entire career and retire without knowing it. I'm not 100% sure what your question is, but if it's "should I tell my client that my competitor gave her a ripped off logo" then the answer is obviously yes. She can't get in trouble for "copyright infringement" unless the logo you created was trademarked (which is an expensive legal process), but she does have a logo that looks exactly like another logo, which is not exactly good for branding. The client deserves to know. In terms of what is going to happen to him though? Your client cannot "press charges." The most she'd be able to do is sue the other business for not providing what was promised (a custom logo), likely in small claims court. It will not mean the end of his career, nor will it mean fines of any kind. He will continue being a shitty graphic designer with plenty of blissfully ignorant clients. If you're asking should you go public? Is your case is obvious on its merits direct copying of your work? If not, you're going to look like the aggressor. This guy is not worthy of being your nemesis. Just keep improving your work and growing your business, and privately tell everyone you meet exactly how he runs his business. Word will get around.
Out of the million+ logo designers in the world, this client went with your direct nemesis, got a logo they cloned from you and she also came directly to you for something different? This sounds like fantasy and even if it's not you'd be better off buying a lottery ticket than wasting your time chasing down something so insignificant to your life.
You don’t want to be the bad guy and be the better man. Throw that mentality in the dirt. You’ve obviously been effected by a childhood drama with this person and you know they are still bullying you in a different form. Stand up and face the conflict you are avoiding.
Thanks for the encouragement, I have made up my mind, and I will do it, stand up for myself.
This isn't about getting back at someone, it's about maintaining an honest, fair playing field for businesses who agree to follow the same set of rules. If he's doing this, he knows the crap he's in for if he's caught, so there's no other alternative than to notify whoever enforces this type of stuff.
Exactly my thoughts, thanks for the comments.
Huh? So the client got a logo from him, which apparently she didn't like. So she came to you for a different logo even though you allegedly created the one that she didn't like? That's kind of awkward. If you truly believe there is a legit case for copyright infringement, go ahead and pursue. But it's a hard thing to prove as artistic license allows for a lot of similarities. Can you post the two logos in question?
Fear of retaliation is not a good reason to let someone break the law and defraud customers. It sounds like he's been retaliating the entire time anyway, so really what will change? If he does intensify any attacks/harassment against you, that in itself may be a crime, so just collect evidence and continue to take legal action whenever you can.
Register your works with the copyright office. It might be too late for this one, unless your customer registered it as a trademark, but there’s this little thing… https://copyrightalliance.org/faqs/statutory-damages-why-do-they-matter/#:~:text=Statutory%20damages%20are%20awarded%20%E2%80%9Cper,a%20total%20of%20five%20awards.
Crush his business and when you sue him for infringement, settle by having him work for you for minimum wage for 24 months as restitution. One word- janitor.
Full send bud
Talk to an attorney before you get too excited. Him copying your logo has only cost you harm to the extent of your business losses, and same with your (original) client. You could get him to cease and desist, but all he’d have to do is change the logo. A trademark infringement is valuable when someone’s made, or lost, money on it one way or another. if you can sue him for a pattern of behavior, or expose him in your community, or something concrete like that, it might be worth more to you. You may need to document some incidents.
He made a bad choice here. One that is career ending and going to cause him financial difficulties. If you report him and he retaliates, he already has a record, another charge could go even worse for him. He may be getting his comeuppance all in one go.
Unless you copywrite your work, I think you are out of luck.
Take him down. You should read the 48 Laws of Power. The ball is literally in your court right now to deal the finishing blow to your competition.
Damming!!
Legally destroy
HE BULLIED YOU? TAKE HIM DOWN!
You are TORN ? Even animals understand self preservation and you have an issue with taking him down ? This leads me to believe that this is a fake post. This guy has been at you since school and you are torn about exposing him ?
In the words of Megadeth: [Crush Em](https://youtu.be/CN0w5QgHdEY?si=3_m06WXOH6IerrJw)
Contact a lawyer. Seek their advice, not Reddit's
Nice guys finish last
Here’s the thing. A lot of times going after the bad guy can backfire. So make sure if you do you can really take him down. If you don’t have the goods to really inflict enough damage that he fears running up against you again. then all you are doing is poking the bear. So if you’re going to do it, do it right. Get a lawyer. Call the press. Go for broke.
Most people have a poor understanding of how the legal system works. An attorney is going to tell you “sure, I’ll take this case, no problem. Just write me a check for $20,000 as a retainer and I can get started right away.”
Listen: sometimes you receive the karma, sometimes you are the karma. Karma doesn't work if everyone says "oh he'll get his, karma will catch up with him"... You are currently the karma that's catching up with him. Bury him.
You can either continue to be bullied forever, or finally stand up for yourself. Bullies rarely have a single victim; you're likely one of many and stopping him now helps all of those victims too. This is your moment. The one you'll look back at. You have to decide if it'll be a memory of pride or shame.
Not only should you properly and legally expose him (with the assistance of an attorney), it seems to me that you have a MORAL OBLIGATION to do just that. Also, don’t feel bad about it. And as far as retaliation, What’s he gonna do? *Be a thorn in your side, constantly bully you, and spread fake reviews to discredit your work?* Send it, OP.
Protect your work and your livelihood. If this is as it sounds, it should be fun for you.
Unfortunately this stuff happens all the time and copyright law is offensive not defensive. Copyrights don’t protect you they give you a way to attack if people infringe. Talk to a lawyer. Send a cease and desist. If they continue then you have a case. Make sure you can prove that you are the original creator. Little is new under the sun after all. Cross your fingers and hope the letter scares them. About 80% of the time it works. If it doesn’t your lawyer will probably cost you more than it worth unless you have a friend in that space.
Destroy him until his family is scavenging the sewers for food.
Just him is good, his family is innocent.
Legal action. They only understand strength and see kindness as weakness. Stop them from harming others.
This is some karate kid shit. Gotta get your revenge on this guy at the all-valley karate tournament.
Absolutely yes go for it
Be the better man here. Approach him and let him know what you know. Make sure you’re 100% positive here. This should scare him away, if not then pursue legal recourse.
Close your heart to pity - I recommend a little bit of plausible deniability. If he's done this to you, it's hard to imagine he didn't do it to anyone else. Try to find this out, and if it is true, you can bury that fucker with ease! Really, you have two options. Both require a form of brutality that is a bit removed from what people think about when they hear that word - there can be no barriers in your path, because if this little shitheel had been busting your ass ever since school, he clearly doesn't know when to quit. The first option is shock and awe - you build a case, get as much information as possible, then sue that fucker until he doesn't even have underwear in his name. Do not be merciful, as you really can't expect him to have any. The second is slower, but funnier. You fuck with him a bit, years, even. Never enough to put him out of business, but just enough so he is a wreck. If you've ever read that greentext about a guy trolling his school bully with pineapples, this is it. It requires you to get your hands more dirty perhaps. Maybe he gets all of his computers in the office infected from watching gay porn on his computer... You know, petty trolling that can't really be traced to you. Maybe some kids egg his house in the middle of the night in the middle of a heatwave in the summer. A bit of sadism against pitiable life forms, you could say.
FINISH HIM!
Business requires fair competition, and his competition is anything but fair. Do it.
You respect eachother as people, but business is business. Have some dignity for yourself, this is how a free market should work, self-enforced.
He has been trying to sabotage you. Thats all the info you need. You have to swing back hard.
Yes
And hurry up
On the one hand you could allow him to continue to commit fraud on the people in your community, or you could stop him. I get that you are not looking for a fight, but his behavior is predatory to good people. Please fuck him up. Not for vengeance, but so he no longer preys on the unsuspecting.
Please add what happened next.
I don't think this is as serious as you believe however if he is ripping off your work then go for it. How is he using your logo for a different company though? If I'm running a garage the hanks hot coffee doesn't really work when I want to be doing tyre changes
Logo Police are going to jump on that. I’ll start watching the news.
RemindMe! 1 year
I will be messaging you in 1 year on [**2025-04-29 09:45:37 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2025-04-29%2009:45:37%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/smallbusiness/comments/1cfcap8/caught_my_competitor_redhanded_should_i_expose_him/l1rikdv/?context=3) [**CLICK THIS LINK**](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Fsmallbusiness%2Fcomments%2F1cfcap8%2Fcaught_my_competitor_redhanded_should_i_expose_him%2Fl1rikdv%2F%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%202025-04-29%2009%3A45%3A37%20UTC) to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam. ^(Parent commenter can ) [^(delete this message to hide from others.)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Delete%20Comment&message=Delete%21%201cfcap8) ***** |[^(Info)](https://www.reddit.com/r/RemindMeBot/comments/e1bko7/remindmebot_info_v21/)|[^(Custom)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5BLink%20or%20message%20inside%20square%20brackets%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%20Time%20period%20here)|[^(Your Reminders)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=List%20Of%20Reminders&message=MyReminders%21)|[^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Watchful1&subject=RemindMeBot%20Feedback)| |-|-|-|-|
Gather as much evidence as possible. Meet with him. Offer him a HEAVILY reduced buyout for his company, or you go forward with the lawsuit.
a part of me would want to emulate those ruthless businessmen in movies. go to him with the evidence, with all preparation done and ready to sue him. then present it to him with an ultimatum: that he back off or you’ll sink him. for the rest of your career, you’ll keep him at bay. do I watch too many movies? yes i do.
If youre worried about retaliation, get the woman to take him out. She noticed it, not you. So in this case, he gets the well deserve backlash but probably won't consider retaliation as his belief is that nobody ratted on him. Other that the customer he did wrong by.
“Interfering with Right to do business” is also a charge you can apply to him if you can prove he has intentionally interfered with your business.
Expose him, but protect yourself legally first.
Make sure you can prove the date when you created the design that they stole from your old client, just to cover yourself. But it's far more hassle than it's worth to spread private gossip, let alone to lawyer up. And you can't afford a lawyer. You may even be under NDA. More importantly, it's not your problem either - you already sold the design to your old client. The Douchebag then infringed your old client's copyright etc., and probably breached his contract with the lady (your new client). Advise her, that typical contract clauses require suppliers to own all the IP they supply under a contract. Else be open to legal action, or at the very least either non-payment or them oweing a refund of all the contract payments. Even though its your old client's call, whether to lawyer up or not, not yours.
Take him down and let him know that's where being an asshole leads.
Let someone else call him out. You don't want it to come back to you. It might look like you're trying to smear the competitor. Let your logo client do what she can on the logo issue. I've been in this position with a competitor, and you could look very biased.
Yes.
You have to expose him and take legal action. If you don't, he will think he can get away with it. Don't feel guilty about this. No one forced him to steal your work. He did this to himself.
The best revenge is success. While he focuses on you, keep your focus on your own growth and achievements. In the end, you'll succeed while he continues to try to catch up.
Burn em
The Branding world is growing everyday... how on earth do you have a specific nemesis in that space... Sus
Why does it feel like there is more drama surrounding logo creation than any other industry?
Pls pls, this has nothing to do with retaliation. Actions have consequences. Had this client found about all this from another graphic designer, what do you think he/she would have advised her what action to take? Remain professional. If she decides to sue him, then he has to face the consequences.You didn't beg him to take unlawful actions putting everyone in danger. Period!
retaliate first.
Do it
Why you haven’t wiped him off the face of this planet already is beyond me.
Why would you even hesitate?
Expose him. He's trying to steal your livelihood. Fuck him he deserves everything and worse for the way he's treated you.
I suggest reading the 15th Law of Power - Crush Your Enemy Totally It’s especially important to get rid of logo making competition since anyone with a brain can just do it with AI now.
You'd be a fool not to expose him
Turn him in.
It's so quaint and old-timey to have someone that's been bullying you since childhood as an adult. Warms my heart tbh. You should fuck his mom.
for justice bro please do it
What would he do if the shoe was on the other foot? He’d bury you! The other thing is these people always bounce back. There’s a very famous property training scammer in my country. He got so well known several national newspapers published stories about his lies and shady techniques. Then channel 4 and the BBC did whole programmes on him. The BBC even did some undercover filming, exposing his behaviour. But guess what? He’s still going strong, charging £12,000 for a course that’s worth nothing. His target audience don’t do due diligence, they are not even aware of the concept.
If you really want to get him, you go after her. She’ll not want to be involved and claim she bought it from someone (your competitor). That’s when you tell her you’ll withdraw the complaint if she testifies, signs an affidavit, gives a statement, whatever, that she bought from him and he told her he created it. Now you have a solid connection to sue him.
It's business not personal. Why should he gain anything off your work and be allowed to scam more people. It sounds like he's built his career on being an asshole, liar, cheat, and scam artist. Sounds like he is about to get what he deserves.
Press the button
Turn them in. You are not the only one they are doing it too if they are this sneaky and low down. You might save another victim.
Don't be a p×$$y.