Copying. We would be absolutely no where if we didn’t copy. Taking what someone else has made, and following it to perfection is almost admirable if imperceivable. Just look at Beltracchi. The guy is a master. He can replicate anyone from any period of time, yet he was persecuted for selling counterfeits. That takes genius to pull off.  Illegal, yeah. Somewhat immoral, sure.  But amazing never the less. Where I run into a problem is when an interior designer sees an item in a interior design magazine, let’s say a wardrobe or dresser, that “literally has” to be in their client’s space, and tears the photo from a magazine and then gives that clipping to a local (the ONLY saving grace here is that it’s local) manufacturer, so that they could copy and make that item, right down to the same details (and details are everything, right Mies?).  Perhaps the interior designer doesn’t want to pay the original maker’s price or can’t put their 40% mark up on the object and still have a happy client. EVEN if by some miracle, the client is willing to (and even more so, understands why they have to) pay a justified sum of money for a “designer” item, is it not truly wrong for the manufacturer to copy another object?  The makers cannot feel accomplished for their hard days work, after all, they are re-doing something that has already been done. They cannot brag about this piece and put it in their portfolio or website.  The only ones it satisfies are the manufacturer’s CFO, the interior designer, and the client that doesn’t care where the object came from as long as it is in their house before they host that very important dinner.  Perhaps people should think twice before asking for copies. Perhaps not.