copyright for crafters
question 17: Well, I was told that a lawyer said it’s okay to e-mail and share patterns on Internet groups as long as you are not photocopying the patterns and selling the copies to others. Are you saying that’s wrong?
Yes, it’s wrong, if that’s the complete statement.
First of all, this alleged “lawyer’s advice” is often second- or third-hand information posted to an Internet forum or group; and the person posting this “advice” is rarely the person who allegedly sought the advice in the first place. You don’t know that this really is what the lawyer said, or whether the advice was restricted to a particular pattern, or one particular “sharing” or copying activity. You don’t know what the lawyer was told by the client in order to procure this alleged advice.
If we were to assume that this was the complete statement, there are some problems with it:
This advice seems to be drawing a distinction between “photocopying” and “e-mailing” or “sharing on the Internet.” That’s not correct.
A photocopy is a copy. When you make a photocopy of a pattern, you now have two copies where you previously had one.
An e-mail is a copy. When you e-mail a pattern, you create at least two copies where you previously had one.
“Sharing” on the Internet means you are sharing a copy. It can potentially mean that dozens, if not hundreds, of copies will be created.
When you e-mail a pattern or post a pattern to an Internet group, how did it get into a form that could be transmitted on the Internet? It was either scanned, or it was transcribed by an individual reading the pattern and typing it into a new message. Both of those are copies. If you scan a pattern, you now have two copies where you previously had one. (By the way, photocopiers also work by scanning the paper you’re copying.) If you transcribe a pattern, you now have two copies where you previously had one. One of the copies is an electronic file, but it’s still a copy.
When you e-mail a pattern, you create a new file containing the pattern that is transmitted to the recipient. That creates yet another copy. When you post a pattern to an Internet group, you are also posting another copy of the pattern to the group. Each person who accesses and views the posted pattern on their own computer then generates yet another copy.
So, photocopying, scanning, e-mailing, and “sharing” on an Internet group all do the same thing: generate copies.
The next problem is that this advice indicates that it’s not copyright infringement if you give away copies for free. That’s not correct, either: go back to question 2 and question 12 to remind yourself about what types of acts can constitute copyright infringement. While some copying for your own use may be permissible, it doesn’t mean you’re free to start handing out your “personal” copies to your friends: go back to question 8.
If you still have doubts about this, consider the number of individuals that have been sued by the music recording industry for copyright infringement, because they were “sharing” music online. Those individuals weren’t photocopying. They weren’t charging money. They were “sharing” with other people on the Internet. And they were sued. How are knitting and other craft patterns any different?
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