Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Be Informed: Copyrights and Fair Use

There alot of confusion out in internet-land about copyrights and fair use among jewelry designers and beadmakers. So I'm providing links to articles I like to refer to when I start to feel confused.

Bead and Button's downloadable article on copyrights
A nice concise read on what copyright is and how it applies to jewelry making.

Margot's Manifesto on Copyrights
The honest opinion of a jewelry designer who earns her living from her work.

Crafts For You Please Stop
Bead patterns, jewelry tutorials, craft patterns should not be copied and shared with all your friends.

If you're kind of a geek/nerd like me and enjoy reading the bookish versions there's Copyrights and Fair Use on the Chilling Effects Clearinghouse.

Don't let copyrights and fair use stifle your creativity, use it to spur you on to more adventures! On my Lampwork Diva Blog, I tell my own creative story and how it spurs me on!

Let us know how you feel - leave us a comment!

6 comments:

Margot Potter said...

Wow, great links! Thanks for sharing these, I'm going to add them to my list on Friday.

Thanks again for helping educate and illuminate. It's important.

Cheers,
Margot

Cindy Gimbrone said...

Thanks, Margot!

Education is a great thing - we'll keep on doing it :-)

Cindy

Stephanie said...

great links - thanks!

I cant get the beads and buttons article to work. It says the page does not exist. Can I get the actual address? I'll try again later too in case the link gets fixed.

Thanks
Stephanie

LiPeony said...

super list! Thanks for the sites and suggestions. I have always wondered and worried about this. =(

Beverly Herman said...

Great posts on copyrights. I used some of the sites you posted a couple of weeks ago at our bead society meeting to inform members of copyrights issues.

AuntieAnnie said...

Thanks. I really like the Margot Potter take on things....