Thread: what are the odds of being copied.

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This year is our 3rd year doing something big and we have a really good idea but if i go around telling people what were doing is there a chance that we might be copied. (lets just say our display takes alot of cardboard and skids)

If it's out there on the net, it's probably going to be copied at some point. It's happened to me a few times. I don't mind as long as they're not trying to turn a buck on it. Most of my neighbors don't do much for Halloween, so I'm not worried about there being a half-dozen animated coffins on my street. I just try to add stuff and change things around each year so that if one of the neighbors tries to emulate my display, they'll look like last year's news. One way to keep the copies from happening (at least for a year) is to not reveal your stuff until it's too late for anyone to make copies in time.

But that kinda defeats why we're here in the first place.

I know its hard to keep quiet when you are sitting on something you are proud of and want everyone to know, but thats all you can do, is keep it hush hush. Otherwise, one of us will copy you. (that was a joke, I wouldnt copy ya, pal)

If you are planning to market your idea then I wouldn't post anything. We are all here to steal, I mean copy, I mean be inspired...oh well, you know what I mean

I want people to copy me actually. I love Halloween but it saddens me to see so many store-bought props out there. With just a little imagination and help from forums like this you can make an awesome Halloween display. Then, when the little kiddies get all excited and get older, we have future haunters It's like planting a seed so-to-speak...an evil seed MUH HA HA HAA.....

Plus, I view it as a way to give back. I've gotten ideas from others and I feel the need to add additional ideas. I mean, just imagine how it must have s**ked to be a haunter just 5 years ago. It must have been a barren wasteland for ideas on the net. Eeeks, I probably wouldn't have even tried.

I would't worry about being copied; I mean, isn't that the most sincere form of flattery? I myself have "borrowed" on-line ideas. The Dot Room comes to mind, and I also got the idea for the Bottomless Pit and Fog Chillers from on-line instructions. That's what the Internet is all about, Dude... Sharing ideas.

Of course it will be copied if its a good idea. We all draw ideas off of each other and in some cases copy exactly. If you don't want your ideas or projects copied, then don't post them publicly. Simple as.

One of the things that I personally love about this (and other) Halloween forums is that we all share our creative methods and ideas with each other. We all love to find and expand on ideas together. It's such an amazing collective mind set.

The only time this ever bothered me was when some slug compiled a cd of many of our tutorials and sold them on ebay for personal gain.

But know that if you put it out there for free (like many of us do), it legally can and probably will be sold.

I've gotten most of my ideas from this forum and the awesome people that "haunt" here. That's the point of this forum I thought. I also tell everyone @ my parties that my ideas come from the GREAT HALLOWEEN FORUM and the GREAT HAUNTERS there and they are the ones that are responsibe for my successful parties!! Keep up the great work !!

I sure wish I lived in a neighborhood where people were excited enough about Halloween to steal decorating ideas!
I came to this forum in the hopes of picking up skills and definitely yes--borrowing ideas--in the hopes of upping my own haunting game and eventually being able to make my own contributions. I appreciate the way ideas and knowledge are shared here -- Terra's right on the mark about giving something back!

I'd be more bummed if noone wanted to copy any of my ideas

Do you mean copied locally or by an admirer of your idea online?
Online, I say have at it and try to improve it.
Locally, yea, that would bother me. But there's no one close who goes to the extent that we do, and we change ours every few years anyway...