Is copying always a bad thing?

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Well, this past week, Apple was not flattered and Sammy was making big bucks imitating Apple without paying credit due (literally and figuratively).

Which got me to thinking. Is copying always a bad thing?

Advertising is the only industry I know of where the responsibility to not copy is perhaps the most heavy.  For 3 different reasons.

Reason #1 :  It's not cool to come up with something that's been done before.  You won't win awards with that.

Reason #2 :  If you copy, that means you're too lazy to come up with your own ideas. That kind of accusation hurts creative pride like no other.

Reason #3 : You will be found out.  If not by your peers, then by your clients or clients' customers or the world and that's embarrassing. Especially in this digital age.

But advertising is massive in its volume.  How on earth can any admen keep track of all the campaigns and ads that have run the world over?

Sammy blatantly and knowingly copied.  Judgement is passed.

But what about this scenario? What if you thought of something cool, for example a touch screen. And someone else thought the same thing.  And that someone launched first.

Question 1:  Do you then stop development because someone beat you to it?

Question 2 :  Are you obligated to stop or at best, forced to modify significantly?

And let's say by some sheer dumb twist of fate, you didn't know that someone else has done it and you went ahead to launch.

Question 3 :  Are you then at fault for honestly not knowing that someone else beat you to the crunch?

This is the kind of conundrum that admen face.

Honestly, I don't have an answer.