A Letter to the Ones Who’ve Been Copied

I’ve been copied. More than once.

My words, my visuals, my concepts all duplicated, repackaged, and presented as if they were born elsewhere. At first, I told myself imitation was flattery. But let’s be honest — it doesn’t feel flattering when you’ve poured your creativity, your strategy, and your story into something original only to see it mirrored back without credit.

What I’ve learned is this: in a world that glorifies imitation, originality has become the ultimate rebellion.

As entrepreneurs, creators, and visionaries, we don’t just build businesses — we birth ideas, voices, and movements. But too often, those ideas are left unprotected, floating in a marketplace quick to copy and slow to credit.

The truth? Being inspired by someone’s work is not the same as creating your own lane. Originality isn’t about reinventing the wheel — it’s about crafting the signature style that makes your wheel impossible to mistake for anyone else’s.

Why Originality Is Your Greatest Asset

Originality isn’t just creativity — it’s currency.Every brand has competition, but the ones that endure have distinct DNA.

Think of your tone, your color palette, your product packaging, your client experience — they’re your brand’s genetic code. In Maverick Branding, I call these Authority Anchors — those subconscious visual and emotional cues that make people know it’s you before they even see your name.

Hermès has its orange box. Louboutin, the red sole. Hormozi, the nose strip.For you, it might be a phrase, a symbol, a rhythm in your storytelling.

When your brand has that level of recognition, your originality becomes your moat.That’s why I guard mine — not with fear, but with pride.

Protecting What’s Yours

Here’s where originality meets strategy. You can’t protect what you haven’t defined — and you can’t defend what you haven’t claimed.

If you’ve invested in your brand’s voice, visuals, or intellectual property, it’s time to protect it like the asset it is.

• Trademarks – Protect your name, logo, and slogans.(For example: El Patio Jardín de Eventos is now a registered California trademark.)

• Copyrights – Safeguard your content, from photos and designs to your written words.

• Patents – Cover your inventions, methods, or product formulations.

• Trade Dress – Protect the overall look and feel of your product or space.

This isn’t paranoia — it’s professionalism.It’s standing up for the work that came from your heart and your grind.

A Maverick’s Reminder

To the ones who’ve been copied — keep creating. Keep innovating.Because here’s the secret: people can copy your style, but not your soul.

Your originality is your fingerprint in the marketplace — unrepeatable, undeniable, and irreplaceable.

And to those who’ve borrowed too much, remember: a copy might sell once, but originality builds legacy.

With originality, always,

Cosette Blasquez

Founder, Maverick Branding

“Protect the spark that started it all.”