I haunt Pinterest a bit. I see a lot on Pinterest that interests me and inspires me. Unfortunately I also see a lot that I don’t like.
You see, I keep seeing embroidery patterns and charts on Pinterest.
I think it goes a lot like this:
You’re browsing Pinterest and you see that someone has posted a Hardanger chart (or any other sort of embroidery pattern) that you like. So you save it to one of your boards. “I might make that one day.” And then someone sees it on your board, and they save it to their board. “I might make that one day.” And someone else sees it, and they save it to their board, because they might make it one day.
If you are the designer of the pattern, then you have every right to do with it as you wish. You can post it to Pinterest, stick in on the front wall of your house and light it with flashing LED strips, mail it to all your nearest and dearest 1000 friends, or shove it in your drawer. You can do with it exactly what you want.
If you are not the designer of the pattern, you do not have the right to do exactly what you want with it. If you have legally obtained the pattern, you have the right to stitch it, or not stitch it. That’s about it. You do not have the right to share it with your friends. You do not have the right to photocopy it and give a copy to all your mates. You do not have the right to post it on Pinterest. To do so breaches copyright and breaks the law.
If you see a chart or pattern on Pinterest, chances are it was NOT posted by the designer. Chances are, it was posted by someone breaching the designer’s copyright and breaking the law.
By pinning the illegal copy of the chart to your Pinterest board, you are also breaching copyright and breaking the law. Designers can and do search out copies of their charts and patterns and request them to be taken down. This wastes valuable time where they could be designing more charts and patterns.
The International Needlework Designers Association has come up with this great visual way of explaining it. (And yes, I have permission to use the image.)
I heard an interesting statement yesterday. “Lots of people have pinned it on Pinterest.” Umm, that doesn’t make it right. Just because someone has broken the law before you doesn’t mean it’s ok for you to break the law too.
Please, if you have charts and patterns pinned on Pinterest (or any other form of social media) remove them. Delete them. If you are not the copyright holder (that is, the designer or publisher) you do not have the right to publish them/pin them/copy them.
The only legal way to obtain a chart is to purchase a legal copy. (Or, if it is a freebie pattern, to obtain it from the official point of giveaway, which may be a shop’s website or a designer’s website.)
If you haven’t purchased it, it’s almost 100% likely that you’re breaking the law by having a copy. Stay legal, and if you’re not legal at the moment, delete/destroy all illegal copies and get legal. Thanks.
Disclaimer: This is not legal advice and you should make your own enquiries. Should you need legal advice regarding copyright laws, please seek a law professional.
White Threads is the blog of Yvette Stanton, the author, designer, publisher behind Vetty Creations' quality needlework books and embroidery products.
Sigh. We’re going to have to keep on saying this, aren’t we. I can imagine Pinning a picture of the finished piece (as in, “Remind me to make that one day”) but a chart? No.
Even a good photo of the finished thing is often enough to cost a pattern maker a sale. (I thought your pendant photos were dangerously clear, Yvette.) It’s a big problem. I don’t know a solution except for asking people not to do it. It’s not just on Pinterest, either. It’s too easy to do, and so many people don’t even realise that it’s hurting the designers of the pieces they like enough to want to share. Most embroidery design sellers are microbusiness, not faceless corporations.
Hi Sue, I agree that photos can be a problem. And yes, my pendants may have been too clear, but there’s a fine line between annoying customers with awful images and giving them too much information.
I sometimes get letters addressed to “the such and such manager”. It’s like they think that Vetty Creations is a large business with managers and minions. No, it’s JUST ME. That’s it. One employee who isn’t paid very much at all. I’m not a multinational corporation. I’m just me. If people rip off Vetty Creations, they rip off me. They rip off my family. Sigh.
Thanks for speaking out. Too many people re-pin copyrighted patterns without giving a thought about hurting the designer.
I can vouch that what Yvette says is true. Photocopies from my tatting pattern books keep showing up online. Time I spend getting these taken down is time I don’t have for designing new patterns, and often puts me out of the mood for designing as well.
Sigh, and then they post the pin to Facebook. 🙁
I always comment when I see this on Pinterest as well as unattributed photos of work I know does not belong to them.
Who knows if it makes a difference but I feel I must do SOMETHING.
I found these posts very interesting. I do my best to respect this. Here is my concern. I purchase a tatting pattern. Have loads of fun making them. Then, sometimes, I read in the fine print of the book that I can make the items and give the items away but I’m not allowed to sell the items I’ve made. I do not sell copyrighted patterns nor post them online for all to have for free. But I do not feel an obligation to not sell the item I have tatted, just because the designer says so. If I buy a book of crocheted patterns there is no specification like that. Only in some tatting patterns. I don’t think they have a legal right to govern what I do with the item I’ve tatted. I need to get some of my money back, so I can buy more material.
Hi Cheryl, I understand this is a hot-button topic. It’s not really the focus of my article. In my case, I’m not one to want to profit from other people’s intellectual property. Personally, I don’t think you have the right to do that, however, I am not a lawyer.
Thanks Jeanine. In the large scheme of things, it may not make much of a difference. However, I think of it in terms of education. Each person you educate might then educate someone else. Or they may just stop doing the wrong thing. That’s a difference, however small.
Hi Yvette and Cheryl,
I’ve really been enjoying your blog Yvette, thank you for posting! It is actually perfectly legal in the US to sell things you have made from patterns. Although I do believe it is illegal to misrepresent copyright law. So the publishers/designers who put that you can’t on their patterns could actually be committing a crime. This website http://www.tabberone.com/ is very helpful. The United States Copyright Office also has a very good website, with very clear Q and A sections. http://www.copyright.gov/
Also, as a person publishing their designs online can sell an infinite number of copies, and never do any more work than it took to create the original design, whereas a person selling finished items must buy more thread and spend hours on each and every single item they sell, I would call into question the idea that they are “profiting off of someone else’s intellectual property”. They are working just as hard, if not harder I think, than designers do.
I belong to a discussion group called Copyright Matters on a social website for knitters and crocheters called Ravelry. I know you tat, but you might be interested in the discussions we have.
Kate
I wanted to add that there is a difference between useful and non-useful (art, toys) objects. I know useful objects made from patterns can be sold, but not the non-useful. I don’t know where things like doilies for instance would fall, so be careful of that, and check with the US Copyright Office.
And of course I am not a lawyer and my advice should not in anyway be construed as authoritative. Please consult a lawyer, etc.