ok i noticed some site which isnt exactly the same as ours has indentical categories, sub categories and attributes, is there anything that can be done, or is this one of those things that have no laws because of the generic categories. Ours where unique in the way they where sorted in categories and subcategories
Nothing you can do in this case but try to scare them with a letter or something. You cant do anything about it though otherwise.
If you patented the way the categories are made, you probably have something legal to stand on. By the way, are the categories generic like it would generally match the categories for that particular theme ?
no, its a shopping site with categories for everything, just that the categories are grouped in our own way. We are kind of mad, but at the same time comon sense tries to kick in and tell us that a wide range of categories like this cannot be protected?
There is no merit to this. You don't patent your categories list. I'd find it incredibly difficult to have any intellectual property with any short list.
I hate to beat a dead horse but everyone that's chimed in thus far is right. There's nothing you can do.
Facts aren't covered under copyright, but display is, because it's a creative process. However, you would need to first prove that the creation is unique to you, which can be difficult. If anyone else in the world is using anything similar, that's going to get shot down.
Well, I did not say that you can patent the categories list, I said that if the OP has the patent to how the list is structured. Navigational process may be patented. My second question was unrelated to the first.
You may be talking about copyright. IMHO, either one is doubtful and copyright can be obtained without filing and is still doubtful in this instance. It's usually a sliding scale - the more complex the design and the more "coincidental" the duplication the more chances there are for infringement. Best if you could prove that they accessed your work at some point.