Small business owner says international tycoon stole her designs

Katie Valleau has built Valleau Apparel from the ground up, a brand reflecting her love of fitness and fashion.

She says that brand has been ripped off.

“I had a friend text me saying you know I found your images on their website, and they’re the exact same thing. They cropped out your logo, they cropped out your name, they photoshopped out your logo on your actual sports bra, and you know, they’re selling them for very cheap,” explains Valleau.

She quickly found her designs plastered on the website of the company Alibaba, one of the largest sellers in the world, founded by Jack Ma.

“[He’s a] billionaire, one of the most notable men in China. Everybody knows his name. Everybody praises him, and he reaches out all the time to media, and says…I welcome people suing me because he knows that what he’s doing is wrong,” Valleau says.

Valleau considered suing herself, but worries legal action could put her out of business.

“To hire a lawyer, to hire an attorney, it’s thousands and thousands of dollars, and again, I’m going up against someone who has $23 billion to his name.”

Her next move was to take to social media with a letter to Jack Ma. The post has now been shared more than a hundred times.

“I hope he sees it. I hope that he takes [the photos] off the site,” hopes Valleau, “Otherwise, I’m not sure what more I can do.”

She has filed complaints with the company and made attempts to reach out through their live chat, to minimal avail.

We first learned of Valleau and her business from her boyfriend, our own meteorologist Jeff Forgeron.

Valleau is hoping to bring more over her business to the desert.

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