Last Friday’s post about "sharing" may have been perceived as negative. Please forgive my inability to say correctly what this button means to me. I will try to explain it better.
It does not mean you can freely take a picture or pattern from someone else’s site with out their express consent IF it is a copyrighted item. Sharing free items or ideas with other blog readers, by adding the information to your own blog of where the pattern, idea or button, comes from is the right way to handle this. If you are not sure, then email the owner of the blog where you saw the idea to make sure that it is ok to share this information.
Copyright is sacred to a designer. Designers are paid for the patterns that are sold. Their pictures or text about this pattern is also copyrighted.
At a recent SNB night someone brought copies of a clog pattern used for Laurie’s Clog Along. This is very wrong. The pattern is easily available for purchase at many stores in the area. It is a very inexpensive pattern. When I brought it to their attention they all agreed it was wrong and the patterns were destroyed. It turned out that everyone in the Clog Along had already purchased the pattern. If we don’t support our designers there will be little reason for them to create and sell their designs. We will be the losers. There are plenty of free patterns on line from good sources such as Knitty and MagKnits. There are hundreds of ohers, too.
Be kind, share ideas, obey copyright law and let’s enjoy our Blogland community.
Here are a couple of copyright info links that are very intesting.
about.com
www.girlfromauntie.com
I knew what you meant in your original post, but thanks for "sharing" the links about copyright. That is good info. for everybody to have.
Posted by: annie | May 24, 2004 at 12:29 PM
Nobody who advocates sharing advocates theft! (Or if they do, they're not very smart.) I think that sharing refers more to the idea of sharing the fact that we've found a really cool site, or a really cool pattern, and to recommend checking it out. It's being accused of theft when one makes such a recommendation that seems a little out of left field to most bloggers!
Posted by: Erica | May 24, 2004 at 11:24 PM
(I definitely understand your need to be clearly understood. I share that need, and I agree that we should be very clear about what that button means!)
Posted by: Erica Winter | May 24, 2004 at 11:48 PM
I thought your original post on sharing was excellent, but your additional bit of clarity about copyright is a lovely phrasing of the old refrain. From someone whose copyright has been bludgeoned repeatedly, MUCH THANKS!!!
Posted by: Sylvia | May 25, 2004 at 06:53 AM