Ask HN: My physical goods social enterprise may have been cloned by a for profit | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: My physical goods social enterprise may have been cloned by a for profit

10 pointskelu12415 comments

RickshawArt.org got cloned as Rickshaw Canvas. What should I do?

I don't think there is much you can do. Your idea is not unique and they did not copy some individual business method. When I read the headline with the word "cloned", I thought they copied your web site or business model. You are selling something that exists and so are they.

That being said, I wish they were not doing what they are and am rooting for you over them. I just don't believe they have really infringed on anything.

Yep, right, nothing can be done -- no patent, nothing, just execution (let the fittest win, I know, it what makes the difference =) ).

CLONED, because they used pictures I took, pretend to have the product I sell (it's original art, so I'm pretty sure they don't have another copy) and re-used without changing the tag-line I used.

In this context, my question would be: what's the strategy to follow to interact with them?

If they're using pictures that you took, and thus have the copyright to, then you'd presumably have grounds for a DMCA takedown request to their hosts.

You should be excited someone validated your idea. Then you should turn it to for profit (and be one of the rare examples of for profit social enterprise that may actually work.) Then you should raise money and ramp marketing.

Or do nothing since your original goal was to do some good which by creating the idea and frame work you have accomplished.

Humm .. understood point #1. Yes, the original goal was to bring money to a fund through sales.. but if the sales are diverted to a for-profit, ultimately beneficiaries will not enjoy it.

I think you may want to examine the assumptions in 'but if the sales are diverted to a for-profit, ultimately beneficiaries will not enjoy it.' Is that the truth, or is that what you think the truth is? There is an important difference between the two.

Good point as well, maybe biaised. However, beneficiaries can get returns through a partner who has experience and ensures the right return to beneficiary, when they are not transparent -- so unsure. You're right!

Agreed. There is a very real chance that being a for-profit company can propel to you making more money for both the company and for your beneficiaries since you can hire more talented individuals.

It's pretty well known that non-profits often starve for top talent simply because a lot of the top talent also wants to make more money than a poor college kid.

Making money doesn't have to be orthogonal to doing good things in the world. There are plenty of companies that manage to do both.

But yes, I agree it tends to show an interest for the idea! ^^

Talk to the couchsurfing guys about how being cloned for profit feels.

haha true

I understand Couchsurfing in the process of monetizing, wish them well.

What's the URI for the other site? Google turns up a lot of sites for "Rickshaw Canvas".

Started as a Facebook group

Edit: addition

# if you look at the album, pics are from us

# The tagline "We offer you the best Bangladeshi ..." is exactly the same...

# and the worst, they managed to catch clients (maybe i'm just jealous?

edit2 # their content as well :/

If it's on Facebook they will definitely shut it down if there's a valid complaint.

Here's the information you need:

https://www.facebook.com/help/?page=157024904418383

Reply on news.ycombinator.com