Copyright Question

Carolyn, my philosophy hinges on the 11th commandment. Thou shalt no get found out. As long as the 11th commandment covers you, go for it!!! Jim.

The thing to remember about copyright is that you may not increase the number of instances of the work in existence without payment to the author.

Libraries buy books, and pay levies that recognize in some way that book swill circulate among their patrons. So, you borrow a library book, read it, use the instructions or whatever, then return it. There has been no change in the number of copies of the book in existence. That is what libraries are about, and no wrong has been committed. Borrowing is a good way to audition books, like finding out if a cookbook has enough recipes you would use to make it worth purchasing.

If you photocopy or scan patterns, recipes etc from borrowed books, you are bringing more copies of someone's work into being, without that person being compensated. Some people would see a difference between copying one recipe from a book of hundred and scanning one designer's only chart in a magazine, but I don't want to get into "fair use" or whatever. (IMHO, fair use tends to be meaningful in academia or reviewing, and an excuse too many other places.)

If you want a pile of recipes from one book, best to buy the book. I have found that most recipes from magazines get republished on their websites, and they make it very convenient for you to get them there.

Once you have bought a chart, book or whatever, you can use it as often as you want, and pass along a book or chart if you want--you are not making more copies of the book, and the author has been compensated for the one you bought. However, if you are in commercial production, making multiple instances from a pattern or design by someone else, you should be seeking licenseing permission, and paying for it. If you like a pattern, you can stitch it as often as you want.

It is not the number of stitched objects (or pans of brownies) in being that violates copyright, it is the number of instances of the book, pattern etc. If you remember this, you will likely be okay.

And Jim, I am sure, is joking, because morality, surely, is what you do when no one is looking.

Dawne

Thank you Dawne. That is much clearer than what I could find concerning stitching, at least. With the cooking and recipes I think it becomes a little murkier, especially if you have a recipe you use out of a book or magazine and someone else says, "oh, I love this recipe...." Kinda hard to say no, that would be violating copyright! Although I didn't think to look on the magazine websites. I will do that this weekend. It's been an interesting conversation with DD, especially now that she is into MP3's and downloading music. She wanted to know why it was okay to keep a recipe/make a working copy of a chart from a book from the library but not okay to download a song off a library CD.

Jim's comment made me smile, but unfortunately I think it's the "not get found out" bit that has gotten us into trouble because invariably, we do get found out! (see DD comment above :-) ) I remember someone saying character is who you are and what you do when no one else is around to watch. I've always tried to remember that.

Carolyn

And certainly it is good to lead by example where your daughter is concerned.

This is a terrific explanation -- thanks for posting it!

One of the definitions of "a gentleman" was "someone who always uses a butter knife even when dining alone".

Even if he is balancing peas on it?? Dawne

snip<

Love it, Jim! I imagine that speaks for many of the population!!!

Pat

"Twinsmom" wrote Thank you Dawne. That is much clearer than what I could find concerning stitching, at least. With the cooking and recipes I think it becomes a little murkier, especially if you have a recipe you use out of a book or magazine and someone else says, "oh, I love this recipe...." Kinda hard to say no, that would be violating copyright!

Yeah, it's difficult territory, especially now that electronic media have made things like filesharing simple. So we do draw our own lines.

You are right--recipes are funny--there are people who will never ever share them, and I sometimes heard allegations about certain "ladies" in my mother's circle who would leave out things when passing on a recipe, so that yours would never taste as good as theirs. Lots of people have recipe books filled with clippings and handwritten things that get passed along with no attribution (my mother's always said things like "Blanche's Almond Squares" with no indication where Blanche got the recipe--they might really be Lizzie's Mother-in-law's Almond Squares, she wrote down stuff like that).

I tend to write recipes out in my own words --although there are only so many ways to say "beat in the eggs"--since I tend to mess around with them, and describe what I have actually done instead of what the cookbook says. The main thing about recipe books is that it is the instructions and method of explaining that are copyright (just think of something like the instructions in, say Martha Stewart, who is always detailed, as opposed to some of my old church lady cookbooks which just say combine and bake as usual), and not the particular ingredients unless something proprietory is going on, since most recipes have been made many times in many variations. Dawne

I tend to be as short as possible when writing down recipes, so I guess that would be okay. I also try to make sure I note where I got the recipe, ie, ABC Magazine, December 2008, to at least give credit when I can. That way if someone asks where did I get it, I can start my reply with, for example, "oh, The Columbus Dispatch in the recipe section, I found it online" and then change the subject. ;-)

Exactly. I think they watch closer than ever during the teen years and certainly are quick to point out the inconsistencies in adults behavior! Sure keeps a mother on her toes.