There have been some great posts recently (here and here for example) about the ethics of crafting - what should people be able to copy or sell, how do you know when a line has been crossed, what you can do about it if it has, what does the law say and so on. It's fascinating to see the range of responses in the comments sections too, although I wonder how honest people are when their names are associated with their comment. To that end I put together a wee poll, strictly anonymous of course :) I've tried to come up with a range of responses but of course I have my own take on this which may have influenced my answer choices so I've also included an 'other' option if I haven't reflected the range of options adequately. You can also pick more than one answer if you feel it best represents your position. The more the merrier on this one so please pass on the link to anyone you think might be interested in expressing an anonymous opinion!
Feed readers will need to click over to the blog to vote.
It's a funny thing this copying business. I know that when I purchase a pattern off Etsy, if it's something I want to sell I always check first to see if it's OK. In fact I haven't purchased anything lately that I wasn't able to sell because I'm in the process of setting up a market stall. Some ideas are my own, others are from patterns that I have purchased, but only ones that alllow me to sell.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm really careful because I sell a pattern through Etsy, and would be mightly peeved if I saw someone making it to sell when I clearly state that it is for personal use only.
I have though on occassion seen something and made it for myself, but now I just use my pattern sales to purchase other patterns so it's all above board. I hope so anyway :)
The inspiration board or contacting the creator would be my second or third choice. The first choice was what I chose... now it's not anonymous-oops!
ReplyDeletei have been on the receiving end of this nonsense and it's sooooo not awesome. i accidentally came across a quilt on etsy that looked JUST like one that i had listed several months before, a completely original design. while i realize that i don't have a copyright on my design- i still felt like i'd been stung in the rear by a malicious little insect. now, more than ever, i make sure i give credit to the person that inspired me- ALWAYS. just sayin :]
ReplyDeleteI dunno, there are lots of thoughts I have on this, but really I think that if you credit your inspiration, you're good. Yeah, there are exceptions, but that's my general rule.
ReplyDeleteIf I put it on my blog I always try to credit the inspiration source, but don't always do so (mainly because of poor memory). I just have a hard time buying it if I can make it myself. Isn't that silly?
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