Hi guys, weird question. I run a business where I register people for programs. I have made a registration form to obtain information about the participant. The entire formatting of this form has been copied by another business in town.

I even PAID to have my legal disclaimer and verbiage vetted by an attorney. This was also copied word for word (except they inserted their business name where my was).

Not only does this seem like theft but it also creates confusion because people may actually believe this is my business's registration form.
I didn't put any copyright marking on the form, perhaps I need to apply for copyright status?
Thanks

Too late now, since it is already copied?

But many forms are copied or used as a base, employment applications, invoices and more.

If you have a specific logo for your company, and they use it, there may be an issue.

But this is how many companies find and make forms, they first look for free or cheap versions online, and then look at similar companies to copy versions they use.

too late now, since it is already copied ??
...

I don't think that this is necessarily so.

"While registration of a work is no longer required to obtain copyright, the US requires registration for infringement actions." Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright)

It would follow that you could register your copyright and then sue for infringement.

It depends on the type of wording that was copied.

If it boilerplate or normal business terminology, it is not likely to be protected works.

Refer to Aflack vs. Assurant (http://danashultz.com/blog/2009/11/20/can-i-create-my-standard-form-contract-by-starting-with-someone-elses/).

AFLIC (http://pub.bna.com/ptcj/1051462Jan11.pdf) is a very interesting read. Thanks. And I believe it illustrates my point. I think some of the policies were used by the defendants before they were registered by the plaintiff.

Whether you can protect your form with a copyright at this time has been covered by others. You do have some proof that the form is your work because you took it to an attorney who can testify on that point.

I would get that attorney to send a cease and desist letter to this other business. State that this form was created by you for use by your company. That this company has copied that form without your permission causing potential confusion. State further that you expect them to cease using this form immediately.

This may be enough to scare them into stopping their use of the form. But, then again, it may not, in which case you would have to decide whether its worth going to court over.

Thank you for the interesting input (especially the reference to the Aflack case).

Clearly their policy being pages upon pages of definitions and exclusions, and prices based on actuarial study are of great value and one can easily see how they would pursue an injunction in court.

Of course, my form is about 2 paragraphs long and probably more closely pertains to the merger doctrine- or whatever, and there is no way there is value in pursuing this in court.
As I wrote the entire section from scratch and within 5 years I suppose the work is copyrightable.
I'm not so much concerned about the time, effort, thought process involved in creating the form, my greater concern is the marketplace confusion.
I also believe we easily meet the threshold pf proving that the form was copied in entirety as the only change in words is the name of the company.
I will consult with my attorney to draft a letter asking that their form be changed to substantially demonstrate that is in no way affiliated with my business.
Thanks again for all of your input, I'll make sure to mark your comments as helpful!

Good luck and keep us posted.

Remember that Wiki is not considered a reliable source.