M’sia Designer Claims Client Stole Ideas & Gave To Cheaper Vendor, Outcome Looks 95% Similar

Malaysian Designer Claims Client Stole Booth Design Ideas & Got Cheaper Vendor To Execute It

There’s a saying that goes, “imitation is the highest form of flattery”.  And while context is important, this phrase is the last thing you’d want to hear when a company blatantly steals your designs, potentially making you lose a lot of money.

That was what happened to one Malaysian designer, who claimed that a client copied up to 95% of her booth design pitch.

After the client told the designer that her company’s production costs were too steep, they allegedly brought the design plans to another vendor for them to execute at a cheaper rate.

Fortunately, there is a happy ending as the designer later shared that she and the client managed to reach an amicable solution after some discussions.

Designer rushes design in 2 days but fails to reach agreement with client

On Tuesday (30 Aug), a designer in Malaysia took to Facebook to lament her experience with a company that allegedly ripped off one of her designs.

In her post, she explained that back in July, her firm made an offer to work with a company that wanted a booth design for an upcoming roadshow.

Since it was a rushed project, they worked long into the night to produce a design proposal in two days.

Although the client loved the project, the proposal was dropped due to differences in cost expectations from both parties.

While it was a disappointment for the designer, she said it was okay as it was not the first time that she had failed to win a tender.

Client steals ideas from designer & gets another vendor to execute for cheaper

A week passed before the OP realised that the client had ripped off her design and gotten another vendor to execute the work at a much cheaper cost.

Comparing the two plans, she noted that they bore a 95% resemblance, with similar designs and colours.

Understandably annoyed, the OP called the client to confront them, explaining that what they did was unethical. She also threatened to sue them, but the client allegedly waved off the idea, saying that she had no grounds to do so.

The OP went into detail about industry practices, explaining that a client can only use a design if they chose to follow through with the proposal.

Perhaps not having any of it, the client tried to assure the OP that they did not use any of her designs.

But the OP insisted that the client did, and said they could either pay her for the design rights, or change the design completely. The client simply said that they would check with their legal team and get back to her.

However, when she followed up on the request, the OP claimed that the client didn’t reply her.

Friends dissuade designer from suing client

Wanting to see if the client had made any changes to the booth after their exchange, the OP visited the roadshow, only to find out that the design remained largely the same.

Although she was perturbed by the blatant copying, the OP’s friends told her that there wasn’t much she could do about it.

To this, the OP claimed that Malaysia does not have any laws that protect creative design work. She added that it would be too troublesome and costly for a small company like hers to go up against a large corporation.

Unsure of what else to do, the OP decided to turn to social media in the hopes that she can expose the client’s unethical practices.

Designer & client reach amicable solution

Fortunately, it looks like things eventually ended on a happy note.

On Thursday (1 Sep), the OP shared that she had met up with the client to have a discussion. They managed to reach an amicable solution, but she did not go into detail about what they agreed on.

She also took down her earlier post.

Hopefully, such instances won’t occur again, denying creative staff of all the hard work they’ve put in. Perhaps this incident will raise awareness regarding the issue so companies and the relevant authorities will take such infringement cases seriously moving forward.