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Now, before some start chiming in with "it's no big deal" etc, it IS a big deal.
The needlework industry has been devastated in the last 10 years by the effects of copyright violation. Many designers have been forced out of the business by people violating the copyrights to their patterns and the resulting loss of business. It was very hard at the beginning for those designers who foresaw the possible effects to convince others of the risks and the industry as a whole was very slow to make attempts to deal with the issue. Many lost jobs and lost businesses in the industry resulted from this delay. Others have been able to maintain their businesses but have seen drastic drops in income . . .
A friend relayed her experiences on this . . . it truly has been devastating . . .
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The issue of intellectual property [theft] has permeated many businesses in the last 10-15 years with the easy ability to steal ideas on the Internet.
Agreed. Global piracy is increasing at an alarming rate, with wide-range consequences suffered not only by big companies, but, small independent individuals . . .
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Finally, it is a matter of respect, or lack thereof.
ITA--very disheartening and disturbing . . .:(
__________________ Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR once upon a time . . . )julieebersole.com"So shines a good deed in a weary world." -Willy Wonka
I have a question......Doesn't a person have to apply for a copyright before being able to have their work come under copyright laws?
For me to just say that the card I post you can not reproduce and call your own, would carry no weight by law.
Patti
Actually, it carries the full weight of federal law. No, you do not have to "apply" for a copyright- it exists automatically.
From the US Government Copyright Office website (edited as it is many pages long):
Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U. S. Code) to the authors of �original works of authorship,� including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works.
Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright.
The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently misunderstood. No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright. There are, however, certain definite advantages to registration. See �Copyright Registration.�
Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is �created� when it is fixed in a copy for the first time.
Actually, it carries the full weight of federal law. No, you do not have to "apply" for a copyright- it exists automatically.
From the US Government Copyright Office website (edited as it is many pages long):
Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U. S. Code) to the authors of �original works of authorship,� including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works.
Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright.
The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently misunderstood. No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright. There are, however, certain definite advantages to registration. See �Copyright Registration.�
Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is �created� when it is fixed in a copy for the first time.
HTH
Thank you - I take that to mean that although the watermark's are nice they are not necessary to prove copyright. However, they do make it easier to trace your pictures and keep them from being entered as someone else's work.
Location: The Beautiful Pacific Northwest! Olympia, WA
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Originally Posted by cat_woman
I'm certainly not an expert on copyright law, but this is a quote from Wikipedia about artistic works and copyright: "Typically, a work must meet minimal standards of originality in order to qualify for copyright,..." Now do any of our cards really meet this qualifier? Who here was the very first person to use ribbon on their card? Or to put stickles on their card? I personally can't see that there really is that much "originality" as far as basic design of cards go. I think you would be hard pressed to prove that your design was constructed first. This is also another quote from Wikipedia about the "poor man's copyright":
"A widely circulated strategy to avoid the cost of copyright registration is referred to as the "poor man's copyright." It proposes that the creator send the work to himself in a sealed envelope by registered mail, using the postmark to establish the date. This technique has not been recognized in any published opinions of the United States courts. While such a technique might have evidentiary value in a court of law, the method is potentially flawed because the United States Postal Service does not require an envelope to be sealed before it is mailed. The United States Copyright Office makes clear that the technique is no substitute for actual registration.[8] The United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office discusses the technique but does not recommend its use."
I personally would feel a bit annoyed because I would think "why didn't I put mine up for sale first?", but I also would be flattered because someone thinks my "design" (should be said "interpretation of a design") is worth selling.
Just my opinion.....
I totally agree with this! I just recently had this happen to me! I ran across my card design on auctions webstore - everything was the same except for the sentiment! I left a message for the seller that said "Thanks for casing my card! Hope it sells for you"! I hope she got the subtle hint - but most likely not!
Thanks for the explanation I didn't know that those laws existed for the lay hobbyist. I knew they existed for professional artists.
Copyright law was written to protect all artisans...professional and hobbist. The definition of a professional is one who receives some type of reward (money, product, etc.) for their creations. Hardly surprising that a professionals who is financially dependent upon payment for their work views CASING much differently than one who creates as a hobby.
Copyright laws were specificially written to protect creators (artists), and that protection encourages artists to create new work. These laws guarantee that an artist will receive financial rewards for their work and will continue creating. Not too different than the salary one gets from an employer...don't think many of us are willing to work for free.
The rational that anything seen by the public is fair game for copying doesn't seem to apply if Disney is involved...they win about 99% of their copyright infridgement lawsuits. There were massive lawsuits about 10 years ago by companies who had published their needlework patterns on line; those suits were against individuals or other companies who CASED the patterns. Each of those suits were won by the companies filing the suits.
Should the gal have copied those cards and used them as she did...I'll leave that decision to her conscience. Ironically, I have a good idea that this gal would never, ever snag a piece of candy from a bulk bin in a grocery store...for heaven's sake, that would be stealing!
I dont know much about copyrighting...but to have a copyright dont you have to file some kind of legal paper? Like I said..I dont know much about this stuff. It just seems anyone could claim someone stole something of theirs and it would be one word against another unless there was a copyright filed right? JMHO...
Blessings.
The Library of Congress issued copyrights. The form is very simple (no need for an attorney); the cost is minimal.
If an item is published (and that includes posting it on the Internet), and a date can be legally estabilshed for that publication, that date can be used as
first publication. However, unless a copyright has been issued for the work by the Library of Congress, it's very difficult to collect damages. In some
cases, the originator will be able to obtain an order preventing the copier from further use of the creation.
I would be p'd off if someone copied one of my designs and presented it as their own. But I have to admit that I have probably not had very many original ideas on my own and I have borrowed several ideas. I do have a quirk though - when I do what I consider is pretty close to a CASE I contact the copyee and see if they would like to see what I did - I never CASE exactly. But I usually will send the original poster a copy of my
card if they have inspired me and if I can get their mailing address.
Actually, the act of putting a card on a public website satisfies the law for copyright. If someone then made the same card and sold it, they WOULD be in violation of the copyright laws and would be susceptible to criminal prosecution.
Intellectual property laws are actually fairly simple. Any unique creation- a painting, a book, a poem, a CARD- belongs to the creator. If the creation is visual- like a card- then that image is copyrighted. All a person needs to do to copyright anything is simply to, in some way, make it public or process it through a public arena. Folks writing their first book can copyright it by dating their pages; another favorite method is to make a copy and mail it to themselves- processed through a government agency makes it copyrighted.
Large corporations with huge amounts of money at stake go through the "official" government copyright office, but individuals do NOT need to do this.
As for some of the cases mentioned above:
The OP does have a claim for copyright violation against the person selling copies of her cards.
The woman whose class cards were used in the store has a claim against the store owner.
As for the question of the images from the stamps, that depends on whether the stamp company has a published policy as an "angel company" and what the exact wording on that policy is. If the card seller is using cards without the proper angel policy in place, she is also in violation of copyright law for the maker of the stamps and is liable there also.
Now, before some start chiming in with "it's no big deal" etc, it IS a big deal.
The needlework industry has been devastated in the last 10 years by the effects of copyright violation. Many designers have been forced out of the business by people violating the copyrights to their patterns and the resulting loss of business. It was very hard at the beginning for those designers who foresaw the possible effects to convince others of the risks and the industry as a whole was very slow to make attempts to deal with the issue. Many lost jobs and lost businesses in the industry resulted from this delay. Others have been able to maintain their businesses but have seen drastic drops in income.
You can go on ebay at any time and find someone who will sell you a needlework chart of a Disney image, or a Warner Brother's image, or a chart made from a movie poster, etc. that they say is "computer-generated". Virtually all of these are illegal and are violations of copyright law.
The issue of intellectual property has permeated many businesses in the last 10-15 years with the easy ability to steal ideas on the Internet.
Finally, it is a matter of respect, or lack thereof. To steal intellectual property from someone else, and then claim or present it as your own is despicable- and illegal!
Now, the likelihood of someone being prosecuted for stealing a card design is small. However, many pattern stealers and reproducers are indeed finding themselves going through federal prosecutions for copyright violations, when they thought that "no one cares". People do care- and some DO prosecute.
In summary- anyone selling cards who is using someone else's design or using stamps without having the correct angel policy procedures in place, IS IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW.
There are scads of sites with copyright info, but this one is concise and easy to understand...
As far as registering copyrights for books. I own the copyrights to the three books I've written, a quilting pattern I designed, stencils I designed, and the many magazine articles I've written. My book publisher took care of the filing for the books, the magazine editors did the same for the articles, I filed the forms for the qulting pattern and stencils.
Had the publisher and editors not handled the forms for the books and articles, I would have. Books are not copyrighted by the page...a book is considered a complete work. Same is true for magazines...each issue is a complete work. Artist often include several drawings on one form; stamp companies do the same with their images.
As I said in an earlier post...filing out a copyright form is a piece of cake.
