We learned on Tuesday about something that should never happen to anyone, especially in the creative industry: the existence of two extremely similar-looking office status pads.

We'll show you just how similar they are:

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The creator of the black office pad, Lawrens Tan, tells us he released an initial version of the Singlish Office Buddy in January last year. The current one, which contains 10 different statuses to choose from, was released for sale online and in stores in July 2015.

"The results were great. The entire concept was to make the working environment less stressful and more fun. By introducing these, colleagues could make fun... (it can) also serve as an updater," he says.

Tan was first alerted to the existence of the other version, ostensibly carrying the branding of STJobs, on April 29. 

He took to Facebook in outrage:

He tells us he views the duplicate — which gives no credit or acknowledgement for the idea in any way — as a compliment, but takes it no less seriously.

"Each concept and design (was) not born overnight, it's an accumulation of countless brainstorms, nights and time to craft the idea into perfection," he says. "It's not right to just take it wholesale and present it as its own. It's about creative integrity."

He points out that he has previously worked with local salad bar KRAZYSalads on a similar campaign, too, adding that he would have been happy to work with STJobs on something as well.

"We believe Singapore has a rich culture and language, and how local designers interpret (it) is very unique to their own style," he says. "We hope that we will not see this issue again in the future. Local designers spend a lot of their time doing what is truly theirs, and it's not right to steal their work."

Tan says he has tried to contact STJobs on their Facebook page, but his message has so far gone unanswered. A Mumbrella Asia report on this also said its parent company Singapore Press Holdings declined comment on their story. We've also contacted them separately for more information.

The moral of this story? Kids, don't do this. Copying and trying to profit from someone else's idea is just not cool.

Top photo collage: Bottom photo courtesy of Lawrens Tan / Tee-Saurus

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