Wednesday, November 30, 2005

What is Copyrightable?

This is in response to some postings left on my blog by anonymous

Fine fine fine, there's nothing new under the sun so I guess this means I'm free to copy others work now as well. As most of it is what I would definately consider public domain, yet others will defend it to the death that it's theirs. Since I'm not finished with the piece, as I'm sure this is considered public domain as well, can one really say that the quilting stitch is really public or not? I've never seen the pattern in a book, I've only been using it in my designs for a long time now.

It's just a major peeve of mine when the Me Too Me Too band that sees something and wow all of a sudden now they have to put it in their work, not matter how much it looks like crap!!! It's like no one has an original thought in their head, they see someone elses work and can't even be bothered with changing it and making it their own. Ahhhhhh I'm starting to sound like a bitchy artist again, I knew she was still alive and well.

I think I need more chocolate!

2 comments:

Helen said...

punches "bitchy artist" on the arm (gently) and grins... so do I have to ask permission to put wave patterns in the quilting of my seastorm pic?

lol no seriously, I know it can be annoying... not to see things used in other peoples work - that I'd rather take as a compliment that I'd inspired more art to be created - but annoying yes when people take ideas THEN run round shouting that they invented something new when it's been done before. So I know how you feel.

Thing is though... any element we use to create our art has probably been done before. It's how we combine them all that makes something unique.

Btw, I LOVE your quilt. (promise I won't copy it)

Anonymous said...

information at this site is very good.
http://www.quiltersmuse.com/copyright_and_quilts.htm

I for one, do not buy books anymore, or patterns, because I never know when someone is going to try to make my life miserable by saying they did something first. The only really original idea I have seen lately, is the Stack N Whack craze. And that is in the technique, not the outcome, everyone has seen kaleidoscope images before, and attemted them.