Friendly Plagiarism
I noticed a friend plagiarize a phrase of mine in her talk, and I actually do not care at all. In fact, it makes me happy. She commented that she liked this line at the time. That’s permission to use it forever. Maybe she was intentional or accidental; it almost doesn’t matter. I don’t own those words or that combination of words. It would totally ruin her talk if she broke flow and randomly cited some Substacker. I’d prefer if she didn’t. Just use it! I’m flattered that I can distill phrases that stick. That is the point. Language is supposed to spread, and only blockheads get territorial over words.
If someone steals your business, that’s a different thing.