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Ask HN: Is this plagiarism or competition?

5 points by edb ↗ HN
So I was browsing the internet and found a site that already does EXACTLY what I'm currently working on. It is pretty decently executed, but the project is young and done by a guy in his spare time.

I don't want to cancel my project, so I emailed the developer of the site to ask him if he was interested in collaborating. He politely stated that he only collaborates with his close friends.

I'm 100% sure that I can do a better job and build a site that has a wider feature set and is more rigorous in its approach, especially since I will be working on it full time and will be hiring help.

My problem is that my version 1, at its core, will be EXACTLY like his, but with a little more polish. Is there a more ethical way of going about this or should I just release my product and make a grab at his users?

I was really stoked about my project, then got discouraged when someone else made it. I then got excited to collaborate and the opportunity was denied. I feel like I should just move forward but I don't know if I'm plagiarizing or just surfacing as a healthy competitor.

Your thoughts?

11 comments

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mixmax
Just do it.

You haven't plagiarized anthing, you only became aware of it after having thought up your own idea.

In fact don't even feel bad about it - good artists borrow, great artists steal - Steve Jobs.

cperciva
Plagiarizing is copying without credit. You're not copying -- you came up with the same ideas independently.

Go for it.

edb
But I literally have EVERY feature he has. It's kind of freaky, but it's a very basic site he's put up. His upcoming features also have a huge overlap with mine. He has, however, gotten lifehacker coverage, as well as on a couple of other sites that drive in traffic.

It's a pretty untapped space where even the simplest ideas are a big deal at this point, so I don't want to be charged with ripping him off.

Should I delay my release until there's a substantial improvement on his?

cperciva
I don't want to be charged with ripping him off.

Some people will make that claim whatever you do. I wouldn't worry about it too much if I were you.

tokenadult
My thought is that you haven't described the situation very specifically, but if you came up with an idea for a website with Feature Set {item1, item2, item3, . . . } and did all the coding yourself, you aren't plagiarizing anybody. You're just attempting to solve a problem someone else is attempting to solve too. The users will decide whom to do business with.

Trademark and copyright are distinct issues, but you haven't mentioned anything that would raise a trademark or copyright issue.

dpifke
Rather than agonize over the similarity between the sites, is there a way to differentiate yours? Doing an exercise like the strategy maps in "Blue Ocean Strategy" comes to mind as something that might be worthwhile.

Features != user experience. Two sites can have exactly the same feature set but their value and popularity can be determined by completely different factors.

I should also note that you have a huge opportunity here: if his/your feature sets are that similar, you can observe how folks are using those features before even launching. You've essentially gotten some free market research with which to refine your product before you have a userbase to complain about changes.

callmeed
Go for it. As another commenter said, it's called "competition". Coke/Pepsi, Ford/Chevy, etc.

Design your site to look better than his

If it's a paid app, you can beat him on price–or charge more and beat him on quality of features and service

Consider dropping one feature that he has, and adding one that he doesn't–even if it's trivial, it could help you differentiate.

ars
I would email him again saying: "I had exactly that idea myself, and I see that you did too. I really want to implement it. Are you sure we can not collaborate? Because I really want to do this and if we can't collaborate I will go it alone."

Emailing him in the first place was a bad idea, because he has more ammunition to claim you copied him. But you did it already, so you might as well go all the way.

gommm
I have been in the same situation a few months ago and after much thinking and hand wringing, I decided to create the website but focus on markets in other languages.

Since then, from developing my idea for the japanese market I got a completely new idea that is easy to develop using the same code and for which there is currently no competition.

So, I think that you should try to develop your site and try to see if you can differentiate your site by either targeting another market (other countries) or create a spinoff for a different kind of field.

pasbesoin
I had this happen, at the idea stage. Not that I necessarily would have proceeded, anyway, but it caused me further hesitation.

A year+ later, the "competitor" site has not taken off.

There is concept and design. Then there is also execution. If you believe you can exceed in execution, this, in my mind, is a valid reason to proceed. Just keep in mind that your target market is not yours alone, and that this may influence your chances of success. If you are still willing to proceed, I don't see an "ethical" issue here, as long as you're not simply viewing the competitor and ripping everything off.

If you are concerned about perception, you might (I'm not sure about this, both from a marketing perspective and from a legal perspective) simply explain where your product comes from and why you are doing it. People will believe you or they won't, but being straight-forward and proactive in this might pre-emptively blunt some criticism.

I wouldn't mention or would be cautious in describing your competitor's decline to cooperate; it might sound negative and/or reactionary on your part. Focus on what is motivating you and what you hope to achieve.