My Super Sleuth Skills are rapidly improving and I am constantly on the lookout for competition. A few nights ago I was browsing the search term “PACIFIER” and I came across two separate people who are hand-making their own versions of a Paci-Plushie™ and selling them on an e-bay type website that’s geared towards handmade items.

The first Offender is 100% infringing on the intellectual rights of one of my competitors. My first thought was to email the competitor to tip them off but I’m not too sure if an email to them would very well received. It is the responsibility of the Patent Holder to enforce his or her intellectual properties and in my opinion an in depth internet search should be completed at least once a month. One of my fellow Mompreneurs? pointed out that even if the offending party is not posing a direct threat to your business by penetrating the marketplace, they very well may pose an indirect threat. The Offenders products are not subjected to the same rigorous safety testing that our legitimate products undergo. The offending products are not covered with Liability Insurance and it only takes a single freak incident for the media to pick up on a story and run with it. Poorly made, untested, un-insured copy-cat products can very well ruin the reputation of a legitimate business by tarnishing a products image.

The second Offender is not “infringing” on any patents thus far, but it’s good to have them on my radar. A company or individual with “patent pending” status does not have any legal recourse in protecting their idea. Once a full patent is approved, the patent owner can then set out to enforce their patent by serving cease-and- desist letters to the infringing parties, and by taking further legal action if necessary.

It would be simple to overlook the offenders and brush them off as harmless, stay at home moms trying to make an extra buck. But when you look at in terms of the damage that they could do to your reputation, you can’t just brush them off. The way that I look at the whole situation is that I’m a harmless, stay at home mom too. However, I took the time, effort and resources to develop my product and company properly and it really bothers me that these offending parties are disregarding the safety of infants by doing what they are doing.