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Stories filed under: "copycat"

Techdirt Podcast Episode 251: Don't Sweat The Copycats

from the monkii-around dept

The standard operating procedure for most companies is to freak out about copycat products, and usually to use intellectual property laws to fight them tooth and nail — even at the expense of other aspects of the business that could use a lot more attention. Today, we’re talking to the founder of a company that takes a more nuanced, less panicked approach: Dan Vinson is the creator of Monkii Bars, which launched with a Kickstarter that embraced and celebrated people making DIY copies, and he joins us this week to discuss a better way to think about copycats, and the advantages it brings.

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Filed Under: copycat, copying, dan vinson, podcast
Companies: monkii

Facebook Loses Infringement Lawsuit In Germany Over Copycat Site

from the competition-ain't-bad dept

This is a bit of a surprise, as it appears that Facebook has lost a lawsuit in Germany against a site it accuses of copying Facebook (but in German). It’s certainly true that the sites look quite similar, but the German court basically says that looking close is meaningless. If there’s no confusion in what site people are on, there’s really not much of an issue. And while the sites do have a lot of similarities, being on StudiVZ it’s clear that the site is different from Facebook. While this may just be a German court protecting a local company against an American competitor, it seems like a good ruling from a policy perspective. Let the sites compete in the marketplace, rather than worrying about who copied what from whom.

Filed Under: copycat, germany, social networking
Companies: facebook, studivz