Crafters who live in glass craftrooms shouldn't throw stones...

Hello crafty friends and welcome to my crafty nook. In my last post I touched upon copyright infringement and how to avoid it when using social media. Wow, talk about timing! I've only found out about what is being called "stampgate" by certain individuals during the last 24 hours but it's something that's been known about for a while. I don't know all the facts so I will not name names but keep things general. One of my favourite crafter's/designers has been accused of copyright infringement, specifically directly copying a photo and having it produced as a stamp, the stamps aren't photo stamps but line drawings and the original photographer wasn't credited for his work or even informed that his images were being used. The designer involved as far as I know exclusively designs for one company and if she is not available to demonstrate her stamp and die range on one of the craft channels then the company will use one of it's own demonstrators in her place. This designer is very much loved by the crafting community and has chosen to absent herself from social media until her position is clarified which considering the viterol and spite that has been written on her Facebook post is probably a good idea and let's face it she's probably been advised to do so by the company that produces and sells her products and by her legal advisors. In no way am I condoning her actions if she has blatantly flatout copied images without consent BUT at this point we don't know and can't know all the facts. As I've previously stated this designer is incredibly popular and is probably under a lot of pressure to produce a set amount of stamp collections every year, I wouldn't be surprised if her employers (I've no idea if she is employed directly by them or just on a freelance basis but for ease I'll just call them her employers)specify a particular theme such as botanical, sports, fantasy or whatever because let's face it crafts like most things in life has fads and trends and many craft companies like to jump on the bandwagon if they don't manage to come up with the current trend. We don't know the full facts at this point and we don't know how this designer goes about her creative process for all we know she might be sent a load of photos etc along with the brief and then has to come up with stamp designs. She might assume the images were uncopyrighted or that it had lapsed. This doesn't excuse the copyright infringement and if it was done deliberately then shame on her. But if you are still reading this ask yourself a few questions - how many times have YOU been guilty of copyright infringement? Don't think you have? Think again sunshine! Have you ever downloaded a photo/image from the internet, printed it out and used on a card or project? Unless you've bought it from an authentic seller or it's copyright free then your guilty of copyright infringement, have you ever turned your old Christmas cards into tags for the following year? Copyright infringement. What about that cute packaging you just had to save and reuse? Again possible copyright infringement. How many times have you gone on Pinterest because you need a card and your crafty mojo has left the building and even if you've not copied it exactly if you haven't credited the originator then that's a possible copyright infringement. Do you add tickets/programs to your scrapbook layouts and then shared it on social media or even just shown it a family member or friend? Technically copyright infringement. How about those paper packs we all love to buy and in my case hoard - have you ever scanned them into your computer and then printed them out? BLATANT copyright infringement! How about stamped images you've scanned and resized? Again blatant copyright infringement yet many crafters do it. Have you ever sold diecuts from the dies you have? I see it all the time on eBay and Amazon and most of the time it's a copyright infringement - if you don't believe me check out the angel policies, most companies allow you to sell a finished card or project but don't allow you to sell the diecuts. Have you ever bought an unbranded die or stamp? There's a fair chance that those are violating copyright somewhere and I'll admit it here I have unbranded dies and stamps in my stash and there's a good chance that makes me guilty of copyright infringement too even though I've not done it intentionally - tbh I try to buy the generic shapes because they aren't copyrighted. Let's face it an original design rarely stays exclusive to one company for long, most craft companies seem to copy each other's designs or are we supposed to believe they all come up with the same idea independent of each other just a bit later? Next we'll be asked to believe that the covermount gifts are really worth what the magazines claim! *Rolls eyes* My point is it's very easy to be guilty of copyright infringement and most if not all of us are guilty of it so let's not rush to condemn someone before we fully know the facts and even when we do know, cut them a bit of slack, it's so easy to judge and condemn others for things we are guilty of too. Afterall crafters who live in glass craftrooms shouldn't throw stones! ***************************************************†****************** Crafty hugs Sarah xx