Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Copyright Issues??


OK - you all know that Sue - at Craft The Final Frontier - has invited me to join her -

In her new blog -

The Leisurely Wife QAL - here -

We plan to make our quilts at a Leisurely pace - ;))

I don’t have the book YET - but I HAVE ordered it - AND the EQ6 Companion CD - and I want to THANK Katie M. for telling me/us that the Companion CD existed - it should help A LOT with whatever fiddly blocks there will be - and I just KNOW - without even seeing the book - that Murphy has made sure that there WILL BE LOTS of fiddly blocks. ;))

Because this is one of the latest quilt world crazes - I have seen a lot of “Farmer’s Wife” blocks on a lot of blogs. I don’t want to violate ANY copyright thingys - and I think that EVERYONE working on ANY QAL should "buy the book".

But -

From the reviews that I have read - in THIS book - the stories are supposed to be fabulous - but the blocks do NOT have cutting measurements or instructions - just a CD with "templates". Well - that's good for the "hand-piecers" out there - but it's bad for the "rotary cutter" quilters. Silly me - I thought it was the letters AND the blocks!!

You gotta admit, though, that we have probably seen ALL of these blocks before. They are most likely NOT new and are ALL PUBLIC DOMAIN. We have them in EQ7 - Blockbase - or any number of books on our shelves. And anyone who has been quilting for any time at all will recognize the ones that break down into a basic 4-patch or a basic 9-patch or variations thereof. (The newbies may not know - but some of the rest of us do.)

I repeat - we have probably seen ALL of these blocks BEFORE.

Amazon says the book comes with a CD with “templates”. The reviews say that the templates print one to a page - what a pain!! That template CD is NOT the same as the EQ6 Companion CD. So when you order the book - you might want to order the EQ6-CD also. (Just don't try to order it from EQ because I tried and EQ doesn't make the CD - they helped the author but they don't MAKE it!) And - be aware of the fact that the EQ6-CD is for EQ6 NOT EQ7 - so you will have to fiddle to make THAT work. (Who has EQ6 and has NOT upgraded to EQ7? Just sayin. ;))

Last time I looked - Amazon had the book for $18.47 and the EQ6-CD for $14.59 - both were eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. (At least they were when I looked - be sure to double check the details before you actually buy it - the price and shipping stuff may have changed.)

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt: Letters from 1920s Farm Wives and the 111 Blocks They Inspired [Paperback]
Laurie Aaron Hird (Author)

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt - A Companion CD for EQ6 [CD-ROM]
Laurie Aaron Hird (Author)

=====

All of that stuff above - was written/drafted over the week-end -

Now for some VERY INTERESTING INFO -

I read on Randy’s blog yesterday (Monday) all about how she is Divorcing the Farmer’s Wife (reluctantly). The author apparently is hollering "copyright infringement" because Randy is posting instructions for making the blocks.

Say what?!?!

So - let me get this straight -

If I post photos of what I made and How I Do It - (show the steps I took to make the block - with or without the templates) - am I infringing on the author’s copyright? Can I do that - or am I limited to just showing the finished blocks - so you can all go “ooooooh” and “aaaaaah”? Can I even show that - in case you figure out how I did it?

Can I break it down and show the newbies the basic “Types” of block combinations that will make a 6” block? The sizes of the pieces shouldn’t be copyrighted - they are the mathematical size you need to make a 6” block. Six divided by 2 = 3 and six divided by 3 = 2. Adjust all of that for seam allowances and that information is just the MATH of quilting.

And - I'm no lawyer - but - if the blocks are PUBLIC DOMAIN - how can she claim copyright?

And - how can it be copyright infringement anyway - if I/we are providing information that the author DIDN'T provide in her book in the first place?

I think that the author should be tickled pink that her book is the latest craze and that every quilter in blogland is buying the dang thing so that they can follow along! Talk about FREE ADVERTISING!! Geesh - some people’s kids!!

So anyway - I’m confused and I gotta know -

Before I show you what I made -

If I CAN show you what I made -

And How I Did It - ;))

In the meantime -

BOB is seriously considering cancelling her order and making something else - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

13 comments:

Sue said...

I've copied and pasted this from our collaborative blog....It doesn't infringe copyright because it is my intellectual property and I give myself permission to post it. ;) Randy has infringed copyright by violating the author's intellectual property. The problem she has is stating she is posting (publishing) the cutting instructions for the blocks on such and such a page in The Farmer's Wife book. If she had named the block without making direct reference to the book, she would not have broken copyright. The author holds copyright on the version of the block in her book. It is her intellectual property. Anyone can post (publish) cutting instructions for a traditional block on their blog. There is no copyright on traditional blocks. Copyright is held on the author's version.

Sue said...

I'm machine sewing the blocks. I'll post an explanation of how I do it over the weekend. It's going to be over 100F again....Perfect excuse to stay inside and do quilty related bits and pieces!

Katie M. said...

Can't remember exactly, but several years ago when "Dear Jane" was the craze, the author sued someone over selling a "Dear Jane" something or other on Ebay. It wasn't the specific item, it was the reference to the title of "Dear Jane". It is okay to show how a specific block is made but you can not give it the same name as appears in the book. You could reference it as "such as the block that appears in the Farmer's Wife book on page XX" It seems like everything has a twist and a 'grey area'...... You could show how segments of a block are made - HSTs, QST's, flying geese, simple 4 patch, rails, etc... and absolutely no one could find fault with that... so there are ways around as well..... Have to agree, though, it's a shame that an author has to be so narrow minded as to be upset that someone is teaching / helping another to create the item the author is proud of.... But wait! isn't the author infringing on copy right if she's duplicating the blocks that were published in newspapers so many years ago... gee wonder if she thought of that!!!! So, yes, it's the NAME of the block, not the block itself.....
Just my opinion - I'm not a lawyer nor have I ever played one on TV ;-)

Katie Z. said...

Um... complete BUNK?!? I agree that she should be flattered. If the blocks are old blocks and she's only offering pictures, no directions, I agree that there's no copyright to violate. It would only be if she had a unique way of cutting or piecing or WHATEVER that would make it worth protecting.

BUNK!

Linda said...

Oh WOW! Now I'm really glad I didn't get on this bandwagon and run right out and buy her book. Can't handle an elitist of any kind and if I would have paid good money for her book I would have just had to throw my good money out in the trash. For sure I don't want to make it now!! What a snob she is!!
I'll stick with my Elm Creek Quilts.

Robin said...

There is NO copyright issue. Public domain blocks are just that public! This author is in the wrong and does not really understand the copyright issues.

Kelli Fannin Quilts said...

Wow, what a lot of drama over something that the author of the book didn't even include in the book. I somehow don't think she has a leg to stand on, if she, in fact, didn't include the how-to's in her book. Or is that just me?

Mad about Craft said...

I've left a comment on Randy's comments about this so I won't repeat myself other than to say it is all a shame.

Katie said...

I think BOB may have snuck into your blog a bit... This copyright business is just foolish. I'm so frustrated by so much of it, I'd divorce "her" too! And I'll stop now before I get myself into hot water. I'll go sew instead. (But maybe I won't show you what I did, just in case the Thimbleberries lady jumps on a bandwagon.)

Sue said...

The copyright violation has nothing to do with the fact that the blocks are all traditional and therefore copyright free. The problem is that Randy has written in her blog (published) the pages a block appears in the book, then said what size each piece in the block is. This is a copyright violation because people who do not have the Farmer’s Wife book can make the quilt without it. It has nothing to do with templates, lack of written instructions etc. Another example is, your LQS is running a quilting workshop using a pattern from a quilt magazine or book. Each person who is attending the quilt workshop must have a copy of the magazine or book not to break copyright. Kitty, as for your question on the photo of the front cover of the book on the introductory post of the Leisurely Wife blog.......I took a photograph of the front cover of the book which I purchased. Therefore, the copyright on that photo belongs to me, as it is the photo which is covered by copyright, not the book. Confusing, isn't it? ANother example of copyright infringement regarding quilts is....Photographing a quilt which does not belong to you at a quilt show, then publishing it on your blog, flickr account etc. without the permission of the person who made the quilt is also a violation of copyright.

Sue said...

The copyright violation has nothing to do with the fact that the blocks are all traditional and therefore copyright free. The problem is that Randy has written in her blog (published) the pages a block appears in the book, then said what size each piece in the block is. This is a copyright violation because people who do not have the Farmer’s Wife book can make the quilt without it. It has nothing to do with templates, lack of written instructions etc. Another example is, your LQS is running a quilting workshop using a pattern from a quilt magazine or book. Each person who is attending the quilt workshop must have a copy of the magazine or book not to break copyright. Kitty, as for your question on the photo of the front cover of the book on the introductory post of the Leisurely Wife blog.......I took a photograph of the front cover of the book which I purchased. Therefore, the copyright on that photo belongs to me, as it is the photo which is covered by copyright, not the book. Confusing, isn't it? ANother example of copyright infringement regarding quilts is....Photographing a quilt which does not belong to you at a quilt show, then publishing it on your blog, flickr account etc. without the permission of the person who made the quilt is also a violation of copyright.

Miranne said...

Just leave her book out of it completely. Don't mention it, and you will be ok.
She may sell less books because it will get a lot less mentioned and ooo'ed and aaa'ed over, but her rights will be protected.
How about calling it "Wife Contrary"?
And what about cutting instructions in "leftish"? Are they a problem to the author?
:o)

Julie Fukuda said...

I carry a notebook with squared paper. When I see something that catches my eye, I take notes. Sometimes I figure out how to make that pattern in a size I can use. I have all kinds of books with pictures of blocks and no instructions. Some have two or more names. I woulr just tell that person to go on and sue me. She would never be able to make a case ... only a lot of noise.

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