Saturday, March 23, 2013

It was just a matter of time

Spring Angel--Larkspur Lane Designs
I recently found a picture of a project made using my angel design on Pinterest. The person who made the project made a wonderful little tote with my angel on the front. I told her how much I liked her tote and asked where she got the pattern. She said she found a drawing on the internet. There is no drawing on the internet of my design, at least not one posted by me. There is a picture of my Christmas Angel that has been pinned quite a few times by other people. This is what I believe she saw. It is a finished block, not a drawing.

Let me be clear, I have no problem with someone using my designs for whatever reason they want, after purchasing my pattern, but designing is one of the ways I try to make a living and using my design without permission or purchasing a pattern is stealing.

I decided to send her a Paypal request for the price of my pattern and she has agreed to pay for it. This person has been very understanding about the situation but in her last email, she said she thought it was unfair that she should have to pay for something she found on the internet. I agree with her, it is unfair, but it is unfair to both of us. When I pinned my photo, I included a link to my blog and a little blurb about this being a pattern that is available for sale. When someone else pinned my photo I don't think they included that information. Please be fair when you are pinning someone else's photos or ideas. Give credit where credit is due.


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5 comments:

  1. Unknown4:58 PM

    oh yes that is the danger of posting anything online. At least she agreed to pay. Despite copy write warnings, I suspect this happens often. I know those who copy "sayings" or writings and post as their own wisdom on Facebook.

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    1. Larkspur Lane Designs10:34 AM

      Its so sad when people do that. I was lucky to find this one but I am sure there are more out there. I don't think patterns are so expensive that it is a big deal to pay someone for their work. My design is definitely not listed as a free pattern and I'm not difficult to find. If I see something I like on the internet, I make an effort to find the person who designed it and ask for the pattern or permission to use their design or idea. Thanks for your comment, Pat.

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  2. Susan In Texas10:13 AM

    I totally agree with you. I'm glad she agreed to pay. I wish everyone would include proper attribution with every image they post. It's because they DON'T that major quilt shows no longer allow blogs to post pictures of the quilts in the show without written authorization from the maker, which is almost impossible to get.

    Your angel is darling; I love her little slippers. I recommend that you overlay your website name on every picture you post, along with the copyright symbol. It's a pain, but it does slow some people down, and provides free advertising for your site at the same time. I got here via EQ7 boutique by the way. It's nice to find an active blog; many of their links are either generic or gone.

    Susan in Texas

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    1. Larkspur Lane Designs10:37 AM

      Thanks Susan, I'm glad you like her! I've just gotten a new computer and my photo editing software doesn't give me an option to add a copyright statement to my photos but I will definitely find a way to do it from now on! Its too bad there aren't many active links from EQ7 boutique anymore. I wonder why?

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  3. Anonymous11:30 AM

    I've found Pinterest to be a problem in terms of attribution. There have been numerous times I've found something pinned that interests me, but when I try to find out where it came from, either to find out about a pattern or simply to 'see more', nothing shows. Perhaps the problem lies as much with Pinterest for not 'carrying forward' attribution automatically. Facebook will automatically carry forward the link, and it seems Pinterest could do the same. I'm glad she agreed to pay for your design - it really is lovely.

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