Sunday, June 30, 2013

Copyright infringement

Hello everyone !

Sorry for not posting anything this month , but a couple of things happened that made me really upset . I found a couple of pictures from this blog used by people for their own purposes ! I am perfectly aware that when you post an idea , a picture or a craft on the internet , it may get stolen . It is sadly done by unscrupulous and uncreative people who cannot do things on their own . Have you check if your own artwork has been used by others lately , without you knowing it ? You may want to check it out ! I thought I was too small a fish ...but boy was I wrong !

 The first picture stolen was taken by libraries in Santa Fe , New Mexico . They use it to promote their own kids craft , without asking for my permission and without any link or mention of my blog ! :( I contacted them , as well as Google , since they were using blogger as well . I have to say they were kind enough to remove the picture of my bird mosaic and I want to thank them for that . Google responded pretty quickly as well and I am thankful for that ,too On the other hand , the second one is a picture from my papier mache craft .It is used by an Amazon seller in the UK , who goes by the name OMG .He/she is trying to sell some extra strong glue ...(here is the link  and please feel free to flag him/her !!) . This person is such a dishonest seller . Not only has he/she has stolen my picture , but he/she is also using FALSE advertisement as he is using my papier mache paste picture made out of FLOUR , SALT and WATER to sell his/her crap !!! As for Amazon , even though I filed a complaint with them for copyright infringement , I still haven't heard from them and they have taken no action against this seller ! And that's make me really awfully mad !

So as you can see I have been rather more emotional than creative lately . Should I stop writing this blog because of it ? No ! I am not letting the bad guys win !!! There are a lot of people who are using this blog properly . So I will keep writing and posting new projects starting after the July 4th holiday weekend . In the meantime let me remind you the rule of using this blog in form of questions and answers .

Q: Who can use this blog ?
A: Anyone who is NOT trying to commercialize on it . It means parents at home , teachers and art docents in the classroom . The only thing I ask is that you name the source of your lesson . It is a nice gesture and so easy to do .

Q: Can you reblog a blog post ?
A: Yes , as long as you include a link to this blog and/or mention it , I have absolutely no problem with that .

Q: Can you post one of the pictures (or more) on the web ?
A : Once again you may . But you can ONLY do so if you copy the image URL (thus it provides a link back to this blog) . Do not download the image on your computer and then pass it as your own ! And you cannot modify the picture !

Q : Can you pin any of the blog post on Pinterest ?
A : Yes , you can . Pinterest will link people back to the original website or blog .

Here . I hope that help clear certain confusions . If you are not sure or if you have any questions , please feel free to contact me or add a comment . I will respond to it the best I can . Thank you for your understanding .