Imagine a student, Jane, is sitting in class and looks at a poem that her classmate wrote.
The poem is well written and creative. Jane decides to write the exact same poem.
Since she agrees with everything that her classmate wrote, it’s not a problem that Jane copied the work, is it? What if Jane explained that she “was inspired” by the other student’s work? Would it then be ok for her to replicate her classmates’ original work? No, of course not.
Being inspired by something and re-creating something are two VERY different things!
There are many talented people out there who, thankfully, are brave enough to share their work with the world.
The current online creative movement has created a wonderful venue for sharing ideas. It is SO fun to be a part of! For the most part, the majority of bloggers and shop owners I have dealt with are wonderful! Creative, talented, encouraging. But, unfortunately, there are some people out there who are inappropriately using the work of others; blatantly stealing ideas and sometimes stealing actual photos and passing them off as their own; it’s disheartening!
I feel a bit out of place blogging about such a negative issue; but with the rapid growth of sites like Pinterest, I feel the topic of creative integrity is too important for me to not address.
PLEASE, respect the artists/designers/writers/stylists/bloggers/musicians/photographers/crafty-mummas who so bravely and so selflessly share their talents with the world, by following these simple tips:
- Do not steal or duplicate someone else’s work and pass it off as your own.
- Never re-create a tutorial or project then post it on your site as an original.
- Always, always give credit and link-back to the original author/designer when featuring their work.
- DO NOT attempt to profit off of an idea/photo/tutorial that is not your OWN work!
- Respect copyrights laws and image licenses; always ask permission before sharing someone’s work.
- Do not use online boutiques or shopping sites (like Etsy) as search engines for your next project; the items for sale in these shops are someone else’s work – BE AN ORIGINAL!
- If you are genuinely inspired by the work of a fellow artisan, BE HONEST about it! Contact the original designer, tell them you love their work, tell your friends/fans/readers about the original artist. SUPPORT the people you admire, don’t steal from them!
I enjoy blogging. I love sharing my work with all of you and in return; I love seeing the innovative ideas that my fellow bloggers share. It is essential that we maintain a high standard of creative integrity amongst our creative-blogging-community! Spread the word! ;)
Best,
Michelle
1 comment:
AMEN!
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