SheFinds News: Whose Panda Is It Anyway?

It’s a story seen all too often common in business: The corporate man accused of stealing ideas from a small business, sucking up its creativity and crushing its retail potential. This phenomenon is even more common in fashion, where the term “copied” is replaced by the less offensive “inspired by,” and designs aren’t patent protected.

The latest offense? According to Consumerist.com, online t-shirt purveyor Madapollam.com alleges that Urban Outfitters, that behemoth of mass-produced hipster retailer, stole their design of a panda eating a stalk of bamboo. While the actual design seems like something silly to fight about (it’s a silk-screened panda, for goodness sake), the underlying issue is not. Is it mere coincidence? Or is Urban Outfitters guilty of pulling the panda design? It’s a mystery…and the panda isn’t talking. Buy ‘the hottest selling item at Madapollam’ at madapollam.com. The alleged copy at Urban, not quite a duplicate. Find it at UrbanOutfitters.com