Seriously??

[thepunkrockinchick]

I feel kind of bad, but I just have to vent. I know a few people here understand. I already know that I cannot say exactly what or who (and neither can you if you were ever to figure it out), but someone chose one of my patterns as a crochet along and plastered it all over the internet, without giving me credit. I am just so frustrated! It was a free pattern, but STILL! It was my pattern. I guarentee that if I was asked for permission I would have said yes, as long as when the crochet along was complete I would be given credit and the link to the pattern would have been provided, and the instructions removed. :box I asked for them to remove it from the several sites they posted it on, so we shall see. Oddly, hundreds of people participated.

[HomekeepingGran]

Oh, dear. I am so sorry. All I know to do is send you a hug...

[TCarra]

Hi ~ Gee, I'm sorry you found yourself confronted with this. Now, not knowing how these crochet-a-long things work or if there are options to fix it since it's got quite a few participants, I'm posting my ideas and please just disregard if I'm "out-in-left-field"...

 

I know you said you want it removed. I'm guessing you are because the threads have closed? ....... If not, can this possibly be resolved if the originator of the crochet-a-long updates the thread(s) with your information? Has the originator gotten back to you? As I'm always trying to think the best of people, if so, I'd imagine that he/she would be apologetic for this important oversight. I have a feeling that if a pattern is free, while many of us would not miss asking for permission and posting that it's yours, I think a lot of well-meaning people might overlook it and not even realize it's affecting you.

 

I am wishing you a peaceful resolution to this, and sending you a hug, too. And again, I am really sorry this happened to you.

 

P.S. Not sure why you'd say "oddly, hundreds of people participated". To me that indicates it was a lovely pattern.

[thepunkrockinchick]

I know that it isn't an oversight because they respect the copyrights of large companies, even with the free patterns. They haven't gotten back to me, I am curious to see if they even will.

[Chiscrochetcrazy]

I don't blame you one bit for being upset The bright side is that so many people love your pattern

[sja]

Sorry this happened to you. It really is a shame.

[Wrennie]

I hope it gets resolved quickly!

[kuddlekubs]

Argh! Sorry hon!

kuddles

[crabby rat]

on having hundreds of people using one of your patterns for a crochet-along!!

 

on nobody knowing it was your pattern they were working...

 

to the person responsible for apparently taking credit for a pattern that they didn't write!

 

Good luck - I hope the issue gets resolved to your satisfaction!!!

[Amy]

That's really a shame! If you'd like to contact me via PM, I'll see if there's anything I can do to help you.

 

Hopefully, it was not a Crochetville member who did this. We definitely don't want Crochetville members doing this type of thing to each other. If it was, I may be able to help talk to them on your behalf to help get things worked out. I think if a Crochetville member were to have done something like this, it wouldn't have been with malicious intent, but just because they didn't fully understand the copyright issues involved.

 

A word to the wise: you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Maybe you could work something out so the person removes the actual pattern from all the places they've posted it, but they are able to leave the basic pattern information (materials needed, description, photo, etc) with a link back to your site for the actual pattern. If you thank them for starting the CAL, express your appreciation that they liked your pattern that much, and then ask to make a small request, you can probably do this without the CAL-starter and the CAL participants becoming upset with you for protecting your copyright.

 

Some people really are a bit naive when it comes to copyrights for free patterns, and they think if it's been posted one place for free that it becomes "public domain" and anyone can post it anywhere for free. Of course, that's not actually true, and we need to help gently educate everyone that free patterns are just as protected by copyright as are for-sale patterns.

[Amy]

The best thing is obviously to go to the person who posted your pattern first, and work out an amicable way to have it removed.

 

If for some reason they get defensive and refuse to work with you, all is not lost. You can then report the infringement to the various sites where they posted the pattern. As long as you follow the requirements of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act when reporting the infringement, those sites will be legally required to remove the pattern, or they become a party to any infringement lawsuit you might wish to file. (Of course, very few crochet designers have the funds to start a lawsuit like that, but the site may not know that!)

[RoseRed]

Your pattern should not have been posted anywhere without your written permission. Period.

 

If the person is not willing to remove the pattern and post a link instead (which I would insist on at this point) then you can contact the site that is hosting the pattern illegally and have them remove it.

 

You said it's 'all over the net'. This leads me to think that your pattern was posted in multiple locations. It's a royal pain but stuff like this happens. At least copyright is NOT like trademark where you must 'aggressively' defend it.

 

Let us know how it turns out.

[RoseRed]

It shouldn't matter if the website knows the persons finances. I think most will act within the bounds of the law regardless. Huge sites like blogger (which I believe is a google site) will always act within the law to cover their own.

[thepunkrockinchick]

It seems they thought they were doing me a favor by posting it, but honestly, I didn't see any credit given. It is going to be removed. I explained that I am flattered and I appreciate all of those who participated. In one way I feel like I made a big deal out of it, but at the same time, not at all. Just because I didn't specifically say, "Do not repost elsewhere" doesn't mean that people have that right and I think they know that. It's over now. I am just stressed out over a death in the family, so that probably influenced how upset I was. Although, I didn't really get nasty with the owner of the site, I just wasn't nicey nice.

 

Besides, if I want publicity I will advertise on this wonderful site, which does respect everyone's creativity and rights.

[RoseRed]

I'm glad that it was easy to 'fix' this. You have a right to be upset over any copyright violation. You're probably right that being upset to begin with has colored how you responded to this.

[DebraKay]

It seems they thought they were doing me a favor by posting it, but honestly, I didn't see any credit given. It is going to be removed. I explained that I am flattered and I appreciate all of those who participated. In one way I feel like I made a big deal out of it, but at the same time, not at all. Just because I didn't specifically say, "Do not repost elsewhere" doesn't mean that people have that right and I think they know that. It's over now. I am just stressed out over a death in the family, so that probably influenced how upset I was. Although, I didn't really get nasty with the owner of the site, I just wasn't nicey nice.

 

Besides, if I want publicity I will advertise on this wonderful site, which does respect everyone's creativity and rights.

 

Sorry you have had to deal with a loss in the family. Glad you worked through the problem of copyright infringement. You did it right by going directly to the person first, then the website. Biblical problem solving even tells us to go directly to the person who has wronged you, then if they do not make it right, you go to a broader group (in this case the website), then if you have to, you take your grievance public. (Greatly paraphrased from Matthew 18:15-17)

 

Don't worry about making it a big deal -- it already was. No one should steal from you. In this case the theft was your creativity and art. The person doing it probably did not realize she was breaking a trust by reprinting a free pattern. But you have given her a learning opportunity and it may help save others from the same experience!