I don’t know if there’s anything halachically wrong with copying a business idea; I just know that if I was an owner of Mishpacha, I would be furious.
How would you feel if you researched, tested, risked money, and created something new and marketed it to our community – let’s say you spent five years developing and marketing the Shabbos Lamp. Then, a few years after your Shabbos Lamp is on the market, along comes Mr. Ami Lamp who swipes your entire product idea, produces a virtually identical lamp, and markets it in the same stores and publications where you market yours, and he calls it the Non-Muktza-Lamp.
I don’t know if there are potential Hasagas Gevul problems or patent problems with this scenario, but I do know that the original creator of the Shabbos Lamp would not be pleased.
Why couldn’t Ami Magazine have figured out a somewhat different format and style for their magazine, rather than “riding” on Mishpacha’s years of experience and “swiping” their style and format? C’mon, Ami folks, be creative – there’s endless room for creativity in the magazine industry – by showing yourself to be a copycat I have already lost respect for your publication during week #1. (although I may still continue buying it, not sure yet if I like it enough.)