A bit of an older story, but apparently Beethoven was also plagued by copycats throughout his career, from Steibelt to Gelinek. It got so bad that Gelinek would

A bit of an older story, but apparently Beethoven was also plagued by copycats throughout his career, from Steibelt to Gelinek. It got so bad that Gelinek would drop by unannounced and actually eavesdrop on Beethoven while he was composing, then hurry home to create themes based on the motifs he heard. It got to the point where Beethoven actually had to physically flee from his home. Tangentially related (since Steibelt was a bit of a plagiarist himself) but the piano duel between him and Beethoven must have been a sight to behold. https://www.classicfm.com/composers/beethoven/piano-duel-with-daniel-steibelt/ https://www.classicfm.com/composers/beethoven/piano-duel-wit...