I detest copyright rules!  I know they serve a very useful purpose but they’re so hard to understand.  For those of us who design using basic, public domain blocks, it’s very hard to know that you’re not designing a top that is too similar to something that has been designed already.  Several times I have written other designers and asked if a design I created looks similar to something they’ve created and if it’s too close for their comfort.  On every occasion, I’ve been told that it does not look similar enough that it would concern them.

In November, 2010, while doodling in EQ, I came up with a quilt that I thought would work for a Memorial Day Challenge.  I wrote all the step by step instructions and saved them as draft posts on the blog.  In January, Mary posted almost the exact quilt on her blog.  She hadn’t seen mine.  I hadn’t seen hers.  No big deal — that’s what happens when using simple, public domain blocks.  I will not use my pattern since Mary had hers up first and there’s hardly any difference at all in our two designs.

But, here’s a real copyright violation — plain and simple!  Earlier today, a blog reader sent me a link to a blog that is using a picture from my blog as her “Grab the Button” image.  She even has the photo named the same name as my quilt.  I could not find contact info for the blogger, which I can’t complain about that because my own contact info is missing right now, so I left a comment on her blog and will see what happens.

Please folks . . understand as much as you can about copyright and do not copy images from the blogs or writings of others!

I’m not upset.  I’m not mad.  I will continue to do what I do.  Any time you put info, including patterns or pictures out there for public use, there’s a chance someone will use it in violation of copyright, as I understand copyright.  I always say that I can’t change some people and I’m not going to let some people change me.

I do appreciate the reader who saw it and reported it to me as I surely can’t see everyone on the internet.