How to Determine the Originality of a Design Draft?

A stole B's design materials and drafts, and published them. B took out his own design drafts and materials to sue A, but A in turn sued B for stealing his design drafts. How should this lawsuit be decided?

Take, for example, fashion design drafts, automobile design drafts, or drafts of other high-tech designs—the final version can be stolen, but the intermediate design process cannot be stolen. B can present all of his design drawings, from the earliest to the latest, including even the discarded ones. These drawings represent the design process and embody the designer's own design concepts and thinking. The thief can only steal a result; he cannot steal the process, nor can he steal the thinking and the concepts. As long as B can clearly articulate his concepts and thinking in a way that matches the drawings, it can be determined that B is the original creator. A, on the other hand, has no intermediate design drawings and no intermediate design process, and cannot clearly articulate the design thinking and concepts behind the final version. Even if he can guess at some of it, there will be gaps and flaws, and the judge will then rule that A stole from B, and B will win the case.

Furthermore, A and B can also be asked to demonstrate the making of the finished product in person. During the demonstration, the original creator will be technically skilled, precise in every detail, consistent with the design concepts, and the work will be flawless. A, however, having never gone through the creative process, is unfamiliar with the design concepts, and his execution will appear clumsy, with obvious flaws, unable to fully embody the design concepts. With such a comparison, the superiority and inferiority are immediately apparent, and who the original creator is will become clear.

Details are the most revealing and best reflect wisdom. If the details cannot be explained clearly, it shows insufficient wisdom, and the work may have been stolen, or borrowed as a reference, or may be the product of sentiment and conjecture, something fabricated by the conscious mind. Without an actual intermediate process, only a rough and vague result, then how this result came about is questionable. The process and the details are the most trustworthy and best represent originality; they are the crystallization of the sweat of labor, and this is something that cannot be stolen. If it is not so, then there is suspicion of theft.