Updated 7 October 2026
Similar marketing is frustrating, but a measured response protects your time and reputation. Separate common ideas from the actual use of your protected work.
Record what you can verify
Save dated examples, links and copies of the original material. Identify exactly what is similar: an offer, layout, photograph, logo or wording. Avoid publicly accusing a business before checking the facts.
Review the rights
Your contracts and licences help establish who controls particular artwork and images. Copyright, trade-mark and other issues depend on the circumstances. Seek qualified advice if the copying is significant; a general marketing idea and a copied original work are not necessarily the same issue.
Strengthen the things customers value
Make your service, expertise and customer experience more specific. Keep approved files and permission records organised. If you contact the other business, be factual and clear about the material and resolution you are requesting.
Your next move
Document one specific example before deciding what action is proportionate. ITG can help distinguish a design-system problem from a question that needs legal advice.
Further reading: Canadian copyright guidance.
About the Author
Tina Kempling, the Lean Green Team Leader at Imagine That with over 35 years of experience in the print industry, newspaper and magazine advertising.
As an industry-certified designer since 1991, Tina knows her stuff when it comes to marketing vision. But what sets her apart is her understanding of advertising and marketing in today’s digital and print market. She can help companies tap into the incredible marketing power in new and creative ways. Ready to take your marketing game to the next level? Give Tina a shout!