| To Copy Or Not To Copy | ||||||||
| Copyright Information Every Scrapbooker Should Know | ||||||||
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I frequently get asked questions about copyright issues that relate to scrapbookers. "Can I share a paper piecing pattern with my friends via email, posting on the forum, or photocopies?" "If I got the pattern free on the internet can I make copies of it?" "If I change the pattern a little does that make it my own design?" The answers to all of these questions can be found in the copyright law. When broken down, the essential element is that the rights to copy, sell, and distribute a pattern belong to the creator. Copyright law gives those rights to the author at the time the pattern is created and recorded on paper or digitally.
The simple answer to all the above questions is "No." The long answer is wonderfully summed up by Rebecca Sower founder of Bumper Crops. Her designs are sold at scrapbook stores all over the country. I asked her how copyright infringement affects her company and the scrapbook industry as a whole:
Sharing supplies is one of the best aspects of scrapbooking. It's so much fun to get together with other scrapbookers and share the latest gadgets (and a lot cheaper, too!). So, I'm sure many scrapbookers don't realize that when they share some products (such as a paper piecing pattern or lettering CD), they are actually violating a copyright.
Also, the number of new designs that we are able to produce and offer to our customers is in direct correlation with our sales. Creating these designs and following all the way through to the printing and packaging and shipping stage take a lot of energy, time and hard work. I think the best advice is for scrapbookers to just practice the 'golden rule'
I agree that many scrapbookers are simply unaware of how copyright laws relate to their craft. Of course there are others who realize that the patterns and piecings that they are selling on E-bay actually belong legally to someone else, but I choose to believe this is the minority. By learning and following our responsibilities as scrapbook consumers, we will be encouraging the continued production of creative products and patterns. Smaller companies are the ones most often hurt by copyright violations, due to the impact that it has on their bottom lines. These are some of the very companies which keep the scrapbook industry vital and responsive to customer desires.
There are literally hundreds of free paper piecing patterns available legally on the internet. These patterns are often provided by manufacturers who hope that by giving you a taste of their products you will become hungry for more. Each pattern online comes with an explanation of the "rights of use" being offered to the scrapbooker. Virtually all of them are for your personal use only. If you have friends that want to use patterns that you have gotten legally for free online, simply give them the web site address where they can find the patterns for their own collection. The added traffic on the sites encourages pattern creators to offer more.
