I had never given this a thought until a SWEET, SWEET, blogger and online store owner and I were corresponding about projects. We were talking about how much we like the same style and often the same projects. She said "Oh I was so worried you would think I was copying you".
What! I have one thought about anyone that would copy any of my projects..........
THANK YOU! I AM FLATTERED!
The thought that anyone would think anything I did was worthy of replicating truly blows my mind!
Certainly She was not talking about the "Ugly Blue Box" (Which has already sold, go figure!)
I was thrilled around the holidays when I saw some candlesticks similar to mine for sale.
The reason I don't care is I figure the chances that any of us have the same customer base is pretty slim and If I could help anyone increase their sales I would be thrilled.
Now, If I don't want something out there I won't post about it. When I knew Romantic Homes Magazine was going to do an article on my "Vintage Framed Paper Dolls"
I did not blog about, Put it in my web store, or my antiques booth until the magazine was out.
PLEASE READ THIS
I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND PEOPLE THAT DO NOT WANT THEIR WORK COPIED
So many people have a totally unique product or style. They are also trying to make a living and feed themselves and their families!! This has to be respected!
I'm Just saying, ME, I am flattered!
I would love to know your thoughts on this topic!
Does it flatter you or upset you when people replicate your work?
Inquiring minds want to know
Carol
27 comments:
This is a great post Carol!!~ I too am like you, have NO problem with it at all:) I am flattered as well if someone finds my flops a flip in their mind:)I think we should always give credit where credit is due..and if someone out here inspires me, I let them know it:) XO
Hi Carol,
YOur pillow cases are so pretty! You are always thinking and "doing"!!!
I "FEEL" that when I show something that I've made..that of course someone may make it too...and since blogland is open to Everyone...that is how it goes. I don't think anyone has copied anything of mine! LOL!!!
Warmly,
deb
Hi Carol, I am also flattered when someone copies my project. I do think it is polite to give credit to the source though.
Hugs,
Sherry
Its funny, when I think that I have had an original idea, I look online and see at least 20 other versions of my idea. Besides, if I post something, especially a tutorial I have to expect that someone is going to copy it. I don't even worry about it.....
I would be flattered if someone copied me on something. And I don't think twice about copying something I have seen on a blog. I can't imagine why someone would post about something then object to it being copied. I would think you are sharing it so others can be inspired to do something similar.
I'm with you, I'm flattered if someone is inspired by a project I post and then makes one too. But I agree with Debbie, we should all make sure to give credit where credit is due.
Have a great weekend.
Jane
I KNEW that white chest would sell! I thought it was too cute, and a great price. And yes, it is flattering that someone enjoys your art so much that they would find inspiration in it.
Hi Carol ~ wow, good post and a very touchy subject for some people. I don't do alot of custom stuff anymore so this isn't really a problem for me. BUT, I do have a problem with people taking pictures as in saving pictures off the internet and passing them off as their own or using them on their own web sites as their own. This has happened to me so many times over the past 10 or so years. A very good friend of mine from a highly visible web site has had so many problems over the years too with this. Photo sharing is fine if you have the permission of the person, but blatant stealing of photo's to pass off as your own is NOT fine. It's copyright infringement pure and simple. That's just my take on it! (*_*)
Carol
You know over the years I thought about it and didn't like it. I also took offense to several bloggers over the years who would do exactly as I had in my home one way or another. However, today reading your post I came to realize that being flattered has a far better feeling in my heart. Replacing flattery with any form of anger or annoyance is so much better and your exactly right in everything you said! I am so glad I popped by today, you've changed my thoughts completely in such a more positive way!! Thanks a bunch, I'll always appreciate you for this post and the better feelings I now have! Lori
Hi Carol, I use a MiFi to go on the internet while in the car. 5 computers can get on at the same time :-) We have ours through Virgin Mobile so there is no contract and unlimited data. Its very cool.
Once I post a project, I know it's out there, and fully expect the idea will be used and adapted, especially if I post a tutorial. But I agree, give credit for the inspiration! Photos or writings should not be used without permission or credit.
Great post Carol, I'm with you, I think you can give 12 people the same project and each will have their own spin on it, taking pic's off a blog with out permission unless they say freebies is a NO but everything else is fair game unless they are going to go teach it as a class and charge for the class fee. I think people are way to touchy about a lot of that stuff, like one said, you might think you have an original idea and then you see more out there similar, that happens all the time, if you are going to get something published then like you said it is best to wait. Graphic's fairy has lots of graphic's that are free to use however you want, in art or on a blog post, so you will see lots of the same images used in different formats. Good for you Carol, if someone likes it, be flattered. I think you are great!
Carol, great post. I don't think that anyone has ever copied me. I have worried many times that when I paint something with roses on it that someone would think I was copying but there are only so many ways you can paint roses on things and I just do my own thing. Sometimes it resembles others items and sometimes not. I love looking at others photos and getting ideas for decorating but would never think of putting them on my website or blog and claiming them as my own. I have had my photos pirated, believe it or not. I would hope that an original piece of art would not copied as that is definitely copyright infringement.
HI Carol, this is a very talked about subject at present. I read a blog post the other day about someone who was being copied in every detail down to shop banner and all products. That is wrong and very sad. I think it is ok to be inspired by someone elses work but unless you are making it for yourself or to learn then it shouldn't be an exact replica. I am inspired to do something like you renovating furniture but not only do I not have access to the same items I live across the world from you so we aren't even competition. I too would be falttered if someone copied my work occassionally. I agree about giving credit too.
I am interested in Stacy's comment above about photo's. I would never take a picture off the internet and pass it off as my own but I don't necessarily give credit (it depends what I'm using it for) but if I didn't want someone using my photo's I would watermark them. just an idea :-)
Thanks for presenting the other side of the argument..."Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"
love Teri xxx
ps thanks for a lovely interesting blog and I'm not surprised your box sold either :-)
I'm with you on this...I find it flattering!
And as long as I'm not sitting across from them at a craft fair, I'm perfectly fine with anyone copying me. :)
Well, I have been around a loooong time. Used to do craft shows when you could make good money from them. I have done just about everything...and when someone presents something as "new" or "original" it usually isn't.
When I do something it usually is something I've done either for years or years ago. So I don't mind if others take the idea and use it too. I usually have no idea where it came from myself. and honestly there really isn't anything new :))
I appreciate you sharing your ideas and creations .. (())
Great post and I love the paper doll frame.
No, I don't have a problem with it at all and I'm flattered just like you. I see so many beautiful creations in blogland and would never intentionally create the same thing and then post about it. If I did something similar, or felt inspired by someone else, I always try to give the original blogger credit. Using ideas we get from blogs and then doing something similar to sell elswhere doesn't bother me at all. Most of the time, my creations come out of thin air and I realize that someone else can have a similar idea. It does bother me when someone selling next to me at one of my shows walks up and examines everything and then shows up at the next time with the same thing. It's a wide world out there and sooner or later all these ideas overlap. Another thing that bothers me is when we start to see our creations made from vintage elements, mass marketed from certain countries and sold in certain big retail stores. Then, I know it's time to move on to something else. Thanks for opening up this subject.
Hi Carol: Great post to get so many ideas on this subject. We've spoken about this already. I have NO problem with anyone being inspired by anything I may post on my blog. Use of people photos or original artwork is a no-no. I think some people think they are the ORIGINAL owner of the idea and that can get their panties in a knot. IMO, that would be hard to prove but whatever floats your boat, right?
P.S. first weigh in--down 4. You have inspired me not just with your creations but with WW! LOL
xo
Roselle
I doubt anyone has ever replicated anything I've done, but I'd be flattered if they did.
Hi Carol,
Yes, I'm flattered when others want to copy a project that I've done. Actually I feel that there is nothing new under the sun, just different ways of putting your own signature on something.
The only thing I wouldn't like and don't like is if another booth owner in the same shop or nearby starts copying what I'm doing and then selling the items. In other words if I'm making book bundles and selling them and another booth owner decides to make them the same, then I would get a little agitated!
But here in the Blogworld, where inspiration abounds, I say share ideas.
hugs
Sissie
Carol,
Fantastic post!
I am flattered if anyone would want to copy anything I craft or any decorating idea I post about. I figure if it is on my blog then it is out there for the world to see and if someone wants to try to do the same thing, I feel honored because I never thought anyone would want to copy anything that I have done. It still amazes me when I do a craft show that people want to buy what I have made! LOL!
I feel that if you don't want anyone to copy you then don't put it on your blog.
I ran into this problem when I was selling on Ebay several years ago. There was a group of Victorian Crafters who basically sold similar items but each put their own spin on each item. There were 2-3 sellers that started to contact buyers and try to get them not to buy from certain sellers and tried to have them thrown off of Ebay. The whole thing was ridiculous to me and since I was crafting as a hobby, I stopped selling because I wanted no part of that cut throat attitude!
Great post!!
Hugs,
Debbie
Hi Carol I have popped back in reply to your message on my blog. Thanks for popping by. I have put this same message on my blog....
My dad is a writer and apparently you have to send your self a copy of your work recorded delivery (for proof of date) for it to be proof of an original design and should remain sealed until the need to prove your prior ownership but I'm sure most people don't bother especially when you're taking photo's daily! Which is why I would watermark anything I didn't want used by someone else.
I hope this helps
Love Teri xxx
ps I agree with the above comment if you don't want your work copied don't publish it!
Carol ~ wow, great post! I love seeing all of the comments. For crafting, I think that we are all bound to get ideas from other people to a certain extent and as someone said above the same project idea can vary greatly from one person to the next depending on how it's interpreted.
The photo sharing is a problem as well as the gal above who talked about the person stealing the whole banner and product idea for an online shop. That is just wrong. So much hard work goes into graphics and pictures that blantantly stealing them for your own use is terrible and it is copyright infringement as well. I've watermarked photos in the past and they've still shown up where they are not supposed to be. I had a lady on Ebay about 6-7 years ago steal all of my photos (about 75 of them) and my descriptions and use them in her listings for a line of Victorian reproduction lamps, dresser trays and other products that I was selling and when I confronted her, she told me that they weren't mine. Ummm...they were taken in MY living room! So yes, things like that are annoying, but I guess you have to take the good with the bad.
I've learned over the years not to get too upset by it, but it can be hard when someone takes credit for things like that. My friend Jo-Anne at Vintage Rose Collection has her photos taken off the internet all of the time. Some people even try to pass them off as their own house...hilarious! Oh well, what can you do? (*_*)
I had a person email yesterday and said they had copied an idea I had and put it on their blog with credit back to me. I was thrilled someone liked my idea. :) xoxo
I LOVE all the projects you do : ) Your box of bling was drool-worthy! Thanks for being such an inspiration on creating new things out of old objects :))
Taryn
I am with you Carol. I wrote an article saying this just recently. This is the link: http://debsvintagesoul.blogspot.com/2011/01/crafting-and-copyright-and-my-new-shop.html. I agree though that if you want to sell or publish something in a magazine or book. It is not a good idea to put it online.
I figured this was as good a post as any to make a comment, I'm on vacation and over the past 2 days on my downtime I have literally read every single one of your blog posts from beginning to end, well actually newest to oldest. I have followed your blog for awhile but I just decided to scroll through the whole thing to see what past posts I had missed. I LOVE everything you do and you completely inspire the things I make for my booth. Thank you for all the tutorials and for including what you charge, that is really helpful information for someone just starting with their booth. I'm in Columbus, OH so if you're ever out this way give me a shout out.
Thanks again, Sheila (from funky junk antiques, I'm on FB)
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