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Copyright does not mean right as in 'okay!'

9/12/2014

6 Comments

 
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I’m at odds over something and don’t know whether to bring it up or bury it in a mental "ick" file. This is about copyright and although it doesn’t affect me directly, someone out there, who should know better is doing it and I need to vent it out so I can file it as a cold case and move on.   It is our responsibility as shop owners, designers and craft enthusiasts, to air out the copyright blanket, shake it out a few time a year to get rid of the thieving bugs. 

You would think a guild teacher and shop owner would know better but three things have happened in the last month to prove otherwise.   A couple of weeks ago, a rug hooker brought a pattern in that was clearly copied.  I am the only one with the permission to produce this woman's designs and I give her a percentage of the sale which is standard practice.  So when one of her designs came in on white linen that I don’t stock, I was immediately curious.  It was copied poorly, with shaky lines, I wouldn’t even let a messy pattern like that go out the door.  The woman told me she thought she had purchased it from me but I let her know that  I don’t produce that kind of workmanship and I don’t sell that linen.   Interestingly, the shop's name was written on the bottom of the pattern so the mystery was solved.  I phoned the designer afterwards and she was very surprised.  A one off we thought/hoped, maybe not worth making a stink over? 

A couple of days later, a customer came in and we were chatting about this and that and out of the blue, she mentioned that she hasn’t frequented that same shop since 1996.   She said she had designed and hooked a rug, took it into that shop and was asked if they could have a picture.  The woman was flattered and said yes. She later discovered the pattern was being produced and sold without her permission. 

So this brings me to my experience.  A woman came in with a quilt that had a cute design of teddy bears and building blocks.  She asked me to put it on a backing for her and I told her sorry I wasn’t able to do that.  She said it was ‘only’ a Mary Maxim pattern and I’m not sure why that brand was up for guiltless grabs,  but I told her that it was someone’s design and I couldn’t touch it.  She said she can’t draw so would have to find someone to do it for her.  I wanted to stick my fingers in my ears so I didn’t hear that, but I did tell her that I would be terribly upset if someone did that to me so I wouldn't do it to others.  So she came in on Saturday with the pattern and it was drawn by the same person, unmentioned above.  That’s three patterns proven to be copied, one can assume there are more. 

So what do I do with this?  I’m not the rug hooking police and I wouldn’t want to get into that arena for all the wool in New Hampshire, but it’s upsetting.  I’ve been chewing on it like stringy celery and it keeps popping back into my head like a ball  attached to a paddle. In this day and age with all the focus on being honest in the pattern department I don’t get how anyone could do this.  I can see why a new hooker would be unaware but an old timer?  

I’m asked all the time to do up Disney patterns like Mickey Mouse and Goofy.  Winnie the Pooh is highly desired for nursery rugs and I’ve refused copying that one more than I have fingers and toes.  I always say, "no, can not do" and explain why.  Truthfully, I would love to be able to produce those TM designs, I’d laugh all the way to the bank and back.   Dishonesty might fill the till, but I'd rather feel good about towing the 'right' line. 

6 Comments
Susan Saunders
9/12/2014 06:53:12 am

Good for you, Christine, to bring this to everyone's attention again. Anyone who designs any kind of original work will thank you, as I do. Now mind you, you saw my designs and they are not in the same league as yours, but they are still mine. I would not be very happy if anyone copied them. Even though all my work so far has been given away as gifts, it is still important to respect others originality and to be honest. This is especially true when someone is designing as part of their livelihood. I think it is important to be reminded of copyright now and then!

Reply
Deborah Schrang
9/12/2014 07:34:44 am

May I add my two cents about Disney? I work at Pleasure Island, at Walt Disney World in Florida. I have also worked at Animal Kingdom Park, also in Florida. All of Disney's characters are copyrighted - if they used a character from someone else's writings, like Winnie the Pooh, it is because they purchased the rights to do so. They also have some very high powered attorneys on their payroll, who are not afraid to make an example out of anyone using their property without permission. You do not want this corporation coming after you - you will lose! And for the record, I have never heard of them giving any individual, permission to use any of their characters in any form. A few years ago, I called a cross stitch magazine asking to adapt a pattern I saw in the magazine - there was no designers name attached to the article in this case. I was told that if I had purchased the magazine, and the pattern was there to be stitched - I could adapt it to another medium - but I could not mass produce the pattern to sell, not even for myself. One copy only. I have also contacted the designer of an applique pattern I saw on line - and she graciously gave me permission to adapt her pattern for hooking. I later sent her a photo of the finished piece, and she featured it on her blog. Its not hard to ask for permission, and if it isn't granted, don't do it. There are so many patterns out there, at a reasonable cost, that no one should have to copy someone else's.

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Clare Handforth
9/12/2014 08:27:46 pm

Good for you Christine. It's interesting how people will put designs, of many art forms, in a separate category. They would never steal a hook or wool. But somehow , they rationalize that a design is fine to "borrow". I've been asked to" lend" a pattern just as I had co-workers ask for papers I'd written when I returned to school mid-career. Stealing is wrong and helping someone steal is just as dishonest. With thanks to my folks; they taught by example.

Reply
Joni Black
9/12/2014 11:50:05 pm

Good for you.. i think the banner of copyright should be waved often.. it is just plain stealing! As a designer you put a lot of thought into a piece and to have it copied is just not right. It is our livelihood. You don't steal from a store so why would someone think it is ok to take a photo and copy a design. If i want to hook the design I will buy it and I would hope others would do the same of mine and yours...
Kudos Christine for bringing it up again!

Reply
Bonnie Leslie
9/13/2014 09:41:02 am

Christine. It has recently come up in discussion: if one has purchased a pattern from u to hook, once hooked could one sell this item at a craft show remembering that a label on the back gives recognition to the designer? Bonnie

Reply
Christine
9/13/2014 12:36:48 pm

Hi Bonnie, I can't speak for others but I've always felt if you purchase a pattern, once it is hooked you can sell the rug. The label giving credit is always nice.

Reply



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