Good Morning, Quilters!
Today, I would like to review the very important topic of copyright for quilters! It is one of the most frequently asked questions I receive!
NOTE-This is an updated post from August, 2017.
My Copyright Information
Have YOU ever read to the end of any of my blog posts? If you have, you will see this:
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy Quilts and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to LKQ. For all other purposes, please contact me at Lori@LoriKennedyQuilts.com. Thanks!
Copyright is Serious!
In 2017, there was a huge hullabaloo in the online quilt world over the subject of copyright for quilters.
The backstory- the administrator of a large Facebook group made copies of books and online instructions from several quilt bloggers and combined them to create a group project.
The problem — The administrator did it without asking the quilters and without linking to their sites or attributing to them in any way. When a few of the quilters pointed out the copyright infringement, things got rather unpleasant….The authors were berated–their blocks were not original (wonky log cabins) and they were just being bullies. When the authors defended their position, more rude comments followed. Shortly thereafter, the authors were blocked from the Facebook group.
In light of this conversation and the frequent questions I receive, I would like to clarify a few points…
What You Can Do…
I have spent hours (hundreds and hundreds of hours) creating original motifs and providing free tutorials here at Lori Kennedy Quilts. If YOU like the tutorials, the nicest thing you can do is PIN on Pinterest, Share the LINK with your friends, talk about Lori Kennedy Quilts ( (or my books and Bluprint/Craftsy videos) with your guilds, small groups, internet connections, and LIKE and SHARE on Facebook.
Frequently Asked Questions
May I use the motif on my quilts?
YES—please do!
May I use the motifs on quilts I make for others?
YES–have fun adding personal touches!
May I use the motifs on quilts I sell or on quilting I do for payment?
YES–be my guest!! You do not need my permission to use any motif at any time.
May I copy the photos and step-by-step tutorials offered free here for my quilt guild?
Well, no….
The photos and the step-by-steps instructions are protected. Copying them in any form and sharing them without attribution (direct link) would be stealing. Contact me if you would like to use a photo or two–Lori@LoriKennedyQuilts.com.
Copyright for Classic Motifs or Patterns
Copyright makes sense for original motifs like Lilies of the Valley– but what about common motifs like Ribbon Candy?
It seems to me the greatest confusion about copyright is related to quilt patterns and quilting motifs that are classic or very common. For example, I did not invent Spirals -so why should I claim a copyright?
After years of teaching, I came up with a way to describe Spirals and troubleshoot common errors making it easier for some people. I went to the trouble to put it into words and to augment the description with step-by-step photos that make the process clearer–that is what I am copyrighting.
It is the same for the quilt instructors who wrote out the step-by-step to the wonky Log Cabin. They don’t claim to have invented anything. They do cry foul when someone copies their photos and their instructions. After all, the person copying recognizes the description and photos have made it easier to explain–that’s why they copied it!
If you remember that the step-by-step instructions and the photos are what is copyrighted, it makes more sense. Please do not share without attribution.
What about the Quilt-a-longs, Quilt Notebook, posts like Six Ways to Ruin Your Quilt or Twelve Essential Skills Every Quilter Should Know?–you offer them free here. Does that mean we are free to share them?
Share Sources not Patterns
You may freely LINK to any blog post, tutorial or photo. You may use any photo as a LINK–with the watermark–, but printing them for anything except personal use—- no, thank you.
If you would like to print an excerpt in your guild’s newsletter, check with me first. Permission is allowed on a case-by-case basis (and has never been denied)–as long as attribution is given.
I LOVE TO SHARE!!!
All in all, I don’t want to overstate the case. I love to share here at Lori Kennedy Quilts and I’m delighted when I hear you used a motif or an idea or a process and then told your guild to try it too!
But for all the websites you visit….Please recognize the time required to plan, stitch, photograph, process photos, write, and re-write every blog post (not to mention the technical aspects and expenses of maintaining a blog).
If you like something, LINK to it!!!
Be careful and thoughtful about attribution.
For patterns and books — sharing copies is stealing from the author.
We wouldn’t steal fabric from a quilt store…
Share sources, not patterns.
The Soapbox Jaunt is signing out,
Happy Stitching!
Lori
PS…LOL—All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy Quilts and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to LKQ! For all other purposes, please contact me at Lori@LoriKennedyQuilts.com. Thanks!
90 comments
Christine
Well put. You can do a soapbox jaunt any day.
Linda
Very well said…clear and concise. Thank you for the reminder from which we all can benefit; and thank you for all you do to help make us better quilters!
Sue McDonald
Thank you Lori for a well thought out explanation of copyright rules and the reasoning behind it. I will link it to our newsletter editor for our guild. Reminders are very helpful!
Gertrude
This is great, Lori. Thanks for making it so clear – and so understandable. Anyone who reads this will have no excuse anymore regarding copyright infringement. Your tone was excellent and this needed to be said. You may want to repost this once a year or so. Some people have short term memories 😉
Thanks again for all your efforts, your clear instructions and excellent photography. I love your book, by the way! I’m a book person through and through so I love it that you have put things together in one spot for me!
Diane Watkins
You are so generous in sharing your skills and talent! I hope your post clears things up. I bought your book and recommended to another fmq newbie. We are both working our way through the books.
Peggy M Bremer
Thank you for your post. I am so grateful to you and other excellent quilters who share their talent and expertise online. The online quilting community is a wonderful supportive resource and it is helpful and important for those who read and access that information to understand how to respect the integrity of the copyright.
Vicki Stygles Donoso
As a former publisher (of scientific journals) we ran into the same problem, lack of attribution to the original source of the intellectual property. You are very generous with your posts and have so many things that can be done and, you have made clear what the rules are. Can’t get better than that!
Bobbie sews
Well said AND explained. Thank you.
Vicki
Thank you! Great job of clarifying copyright. I love the way you added what a person can do. from a former designer of plastic canvas and crochet patterns.
quiltedpixel
Your explanation was not only thorough, but graceful. Nice!
Melanie McNeil
Thanks much. I’ve written about this, too. Also I saw Sam Hunter’s very recent post. I guess it’s time to repost my own. As a commenter said, people have short memories. Thanks again.
Anita
Thank you for this post. It needed to be said. Maybe you should include a link in the copyright statement at the bottom to this post for readers who have not found your blog yet. And, thank you for sharing your talent.
Years ago, (in the days before windows on computers or accepted machine quilting) there was an extremely limited number of quilting designs. A group of very early machine quilters shared our own designs with each other in order to have a greater variety for our customers. One person of the group took all the shared designs, put them into a book, and sold them as her copyrighted material. Telling all of us that we had no copyright to freely shared materials on the internet. I’ve been very careful ever since to always give credit the the original designer because I know the pain stealing causes.
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Thank you for the idea to add this post to my copyright statement! And for your story–there are too many examples of this.
Barbara
Well said great night reminder !
Donna Belisle
You had me sweating there for a moment as I have put a few motifs on Pinterest. That said, you sure deserve credit for all the help you have been to so many of us, by your tutorials and verbal instruction. You are the reason I first tried to FMQ and now, I struggle to construct a quilt but can’t wait to start quilting it.
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Thank you for pinning on Pinterest–that is the best thing you can do! I love to hear you would rather FMQ than piece–me too!
Marta
I am so glad this came up! I had been wondering about the posts on Pinterest that are SO obviously your work. Some have your name in the design photo but some do not. That bothered me…a lot. And I was wondering how to ask you about it for 2-3 weeks now. ( I had not seen the controversy you relate.) But a question, why is putting a Pin of your work the best thing to do? Thank you.
Lori Kennedy
Thank you for asking, Marta! Pinterest pins are always direct links to a blog or website. Pinterest is the number one referrer to The Inbox Jaunt. Pinterest is perfect for quilters who are very visual people–and pinning shares information very quickly to large numbers of people. For my tutorials, I always create a page that is ideal for pinning with the name of the tutorial and my name and blog…that is the photo I prefer people pin.
Jean Q.
Thanks for the easy-to-understand explanation of copyrights.
Judy
Thanks for all of the time you generously give to help us. Well said.
Llinda B
Well said! This should help everyone understand the importance of copyright as it relates to the quilting world. Thanks for all your creativity, Lori, and for how you share with us all. I agree with a previous commenter…perhaps a rerun of this info once a year or so is called for.
Kim McKee
Well stated. I am sharing this blog post with my quilting friends.
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Thank you!
marysellers
I love your tutorials and I have recommended your website to my friends and fellow quilters, including our long arm group. We all appreciate and enjoyed your tutorials. You have help me so much!
Thank you????
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Thank YOU!
Pamela North
Well said Lori but how unfortunate that it needs to be said and so frequently in so many areas. It’s not difficult to include links and attribution.
Jane Danielsons
As a retired school librarian, part of my job was explaining copyright. Some teachers had a difficult time understanding copyright. I like the way you explained it. Thanks!
Nona
Excellent explanation. A suggestion.. maybe put your copyright reminder first on every blog post. Like you said some people never read all the way to the end, lol.
Laura
You explained this very well. As a college instructor, I often look for materials that I can use to help explain communication theories and practices with my students. So I strongly emphasize that the students MUST cite their sources both orally and visually when delivering a speech. Thank you for the clarity in your explanation.
Gloria
Thx for clarifying… good job on sharing
Us newbies love your site!!!!
GLORIA
Regina DeCapite
Well done! And the lily of the valley is beautiful, yet so simple! Thank you for all you do to help us to become better people and quilters!
Sandy Trachsel
Thank you for your common sense explanation of copyright ABC’s!
Barbara
Thank you Lori for sharing your ideas and talent for quilting. Your explanation of the copyright rules is clear and very fair. Your talent for teaching extends beyond quilting to business etiquette and copyright rules.
Teresa Dethloff
Technology has changed how we share information and I remember when the battles started about rights with software products between larger corps. THANK YOU, THANK You for taking the time to write the a very clear explanation of copyright and getting this out to a larger audience .
Bev
Excellent post. “I will share the link with you” will be my new mantra…..
kaholly
Well stated.
Christa
This is so well said Lori! Thanks for writing this!
Denise
Well done! I would suggest a definition of watermark and the importance of never cropping it out.
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Will do!–as that has happened to me!–argh!
Joyce Swift
I agree with the former school librarian. I, too, worked in an elementary school library. Copyright issues were often discussed and often misunderstood. Your kind explanation is clear and concise with great examples. Information that not just quilters need in today’s information age.
And I love your designs, tutorials, and books!
Have you considered making a book of all the Seamstresses in Art? Carefully checking copyright, etc. first? I would love a copy!
brendaintheboro
thank you for your clarification. makes sense to me
Kay
Copyright violation is stealing.
May I suggest that in your PS that you add a link to this explanation.
I know of a case where a quilt won an originality award and the design was an exact copy of a well known quilter and was really a copy.
I was one of several people that notified JInny Beyer when OVC had a copy of her award winning Ray of Light Quilt. The case went to court and the judge said at first he couldn’t see any problem UNTIL he actually looked at the original and the knock off. JInny won the case and the remaining QVC quilts were donated to charity.
And another quilt case was when the Smithsonaon sold replicas of quilts from their collection and did not properly label them as reproductions. Not sure this went to court but they ended up relabeling them and then had a line of reproduction fabrics made to raise money.
I make sure my labels a,ways acknowledge the designer by name and also the machine quilter if it is not my own work. I don’t think it detracts or makes me any less as a quilter.
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Thank you! These examples are very telling!
Melanie McNeil
I linked this in the facebook group Longarm Quilting. There are more than 5000 quilters in the group so hopefully a few will take a look. (It’s a closed group, but you can be added by request.) This is the text I used: “This was a great post on copyright by Lori Kennedy. She is a DSM machine quilter and very talented designer. If you EVER use someone else’s designs, please take a look.”
Kelly Ashton
Brilliantly stated, Lori!!! Thank you!!! You are spot on!!!!
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Thanks Kelly!
quiltbabe (@quiltbabe)
Amen. Permission needs to be asked, and credit given. I recently bought your book, which I adore! and I bought it in Kindle format, so no well meaning quilt buddy can say “can I just take a copy of that page…”. Quilters are some of the most generous people around, but intellectual rights need protecting.
Janette
Hi Lori, well said! People need to respect the work and time designers put in. Without promoting the work designers do, we could lose those individuals who put in the creative time to help teach us and spread the joy of creating. It can often be someone’s living, how they earn money and feed their family. Thank you for this post Lori. Hopefully others can be clearer and more informed about copyright. ☺ Janette
Dorthe
It is a bit sad that you needed to write this article, isn’t it?
I think it should be clear to all people that a lot of work and effort goes into the tutorials AND it does not hurt to give credit to the person spending that time in creating beautiful tutorials, patterns and such.
I absolutely agree with you, thank you for pointing it out so clearly and easy to understand, Lori!
Susan
Thank you for the clarification on your copyrighted materials. I don’t blog, do FB, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. I do copy and paste some of your tutorials into a Word document and sometimes crop or resize pictures to better see them, but I always keep your watermark on the pictures and I always include your copyright statement at the end. These are for my own personal use as I can’t be at my sewing machine and computer at the same time. I love your step-by-step written directions and pictures for quilting the designs. They are the best.
Marta
The Lily of the Valley is exquisite and I love it..RE copyright.. I had a professor at FSU art department who spent some time with us discussing copyright and other ownership issues. It was valuable information. One example was patrons (other artists?) taking photos at an exhibit and then using as their own. Gives meaning to the museum policy of NO Photographs of the art on display in their special exhibits.
Cheryl Parker
I print things off to show my little quilt guild, but, I ALWAYS include the link to where I found the idea, and always suggest that they go to the link, and learn more. If I make something that I saw somewhere, then I try to link back to the original idea (always included if I copy and paste ideas for later use). I firmly believe in credit where credit is due. I’ve not used any of your ideas (afraid of FM still, and, if I were to work on it, I’d need to leave an electric machine set up all the time for practice).
Lori Kennedy
Thank you for your careful attribution!
Annie
I always say, too, that I want my favorite designers, bloggers, etc. to keep doing what they’re doing. If that becomes difficult or unprofitable, then my favorites will likely stop and the whole quilting community loses!
Annika
Thank you Lori. I would like to add something. On the world wide web, you can’t assume that everything you see falls under US copyright. Other countries have different laws, which may be more strict.
So it would be wise to never assume you can just copy a picture without explicitly stated permission.
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Excellent point!
Chris K.
A point you left out is that traffic to your website has an effect on your income (advertising), so copying instead of linking costs you money.
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Great point!!!
ANN M.
I am so sorry that this has happened to you too, Lori. I had read Alyce at Blossom Hearts post yesterday and this happened to her too. Do these people not realize that they are stealing from you. They sure wouldn’t like it if someone stole money out of their home or shorted their paycheck. That is exactly what they are doing to all the designers and artists.
worldpresscom986
Your explanation was clear and KIND. You put it so well, no tirades, no “yelling’ In print. I wonder though, about Pinterest. If I pin something, and someone else pins it, does the link continue? Or does each person have to keep adding a reference to the source?
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The link carries. Thank you for pinning!
Clare Beth Rutila
I add my thank you. I have worked in the quilting industry most of my adult life and this topic occurs repeatedly, often with the same misunderstood explanations. Yours is in clear ‘non-legal’, and relatable language. I encourage anyone with an audience, whether through a shop, guild, online or friends to share the link to this post. I intend to do this next week during our ‘for the good of the guild’ meeting segment.
Lori – keep up all your work and inspiration. It is most certainly worth getting any and all credit!
Marianne
I am glad you wrote this post, Lori. Copyright is something Americans don’t pay attention to enough. It must have hurt to think that we may have be abusing your hard work, so beautifully and well done. I am grateful to you for sharing your wonderful designs and excellent specific written and photographic instructions.
In the area of design and drawing I am totally lost. It has meant a great deal to me to have your tutorials to refer to. Perhaps some of us don’t know the specifics of copyright laws. I use some of your tutorials, but am very uncoordinated at following them, yet I continue efforts because I want so much to quilt on my own. It means a lot to be able to refer back to your instructions again and again.
Although I am unable to fabricate your work. Your tutorials and book give me hope, and I won’t quit trying to quilt. It surely saddens us all to have your rights violated. Surely all of us join in thanks for your charming blog, your beautiful book, and your kind, cheerful attitude. Thank you for writing this entry to each of us who may not have fully understood copyright laws.
You are my quilter hero. You also come though as a strong, capable quilter. So thank you for everything, and your bloggers appreciate you so very much.
We look forward to your next tutorial and book!
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