The Joys of Copyright

Copyright is a challenging topic at the best of times.  It’s something that we should be aware of whenever we are starting a new pattern.

(Disclaimer:  I am not a lawyer, nor do i portray one on TV.  When in doubt, ask someone more knowledgeable in order to get the full scoop!)

In the simplest terms, "copyright" means "the right to copy." In general, copyright means the sole right to produce or reproduce a work or a substantial part of it in any form. (this was taken from the govt of canada website cited below).

I’ve found some great information online which i recommend we all take time to read.  Some of it is a bit long, but well worth while.  

If you want the quick ’n dirty version, there’s a great graphic available from a polymer clay artist named Ginger Davis Allman.  You can see it (much larger!) on her website by clicking here.

If you want to delve a tad deeper on the topic, grab a tea (or the beverage of your choice!) and dig in to the following:

• There’s a great blog post by another rug hooker (Kris Miller from Spruce Ridge Studio in Michigan).  You can read it here (it’s part of an on-going series she wrote about Rug Hooking Etiquette).  Her articles are based on US copyright law, which differs slightly from Canadian law, but for our purposes, we can assume the 2 are identical.  

• If you want a truly Canadian perspective, here’s a link to a great site from the Government of Canada.

• Another good read comes to us from the polymer clay artist named above.  Her information is geared towards clay artists, but there are a lot of similarities to the world of rug hooking.  In particular, she has a good section on “inspired by” and “derived from”.  Click here for her take on copyright.

I’m sure many of you still have questions - perhaps we can continue this dialogue for a while, and learn a bit more about this topic as we go along.

Stay tuned for a future post about sources for copyright-free images.