Back to diane.fitzgerald's' Blog
Back to diane.fitzgerald's' Blog
Whether to Grant Permission to Copy
0
Recently, someone requested permission to incorporate part of one of my instructions within her own instructions, with credit of course. Over the years, many such requests to teach my patterns or to use my designs etc have arrived at my doorstep. I do appreciate when someone is honorable enough to request permission, but even so, my reply is always "no" for several reasons:
1. I believe saying "no" forces or at least encourages the inquirer to develop her own designs and thus to make a contribution to the field of beadwork and to receive recognition for herself. No one wants to be thought of as merely a copier even if one does have permission.
2. Though using one of my patterns with credit might give me increased exposure, it just isn't worth it to me. I don't know whether I would want to be associated with some people's instructions so rather than review them, it is easier to deny permission.
3. If my policy is always to say no, then I don't need to keep track of who I have given permission to and who I haven't. In protecting one's copyright, a consistent policy seems to work best.
I guard my designs, just as we all try to, since it is the source of our livelihood.
By the way, a quick way to get the copyright symbol is Alt-0169.
