I am so aggravated. I had made a big effort to not purchase designs from sites that might violate copyright, and i thought I had done that. I am kind of disgusted with myself that a site that I had just purchased a cute children's design from has blatantly shown designs for sale that are Disney, superhero, and others with a generic name. In my defense, they were in a section that I didn't look through until just now, but what a disappointment. How do you all do it when there are many many pages of designs on a site?

Sometimes it's really hard to distinguish if a design is copyrighted. It is expecially hard for me to know when I look at cartoon type designs. I don't go to movies or have children so I am out of touch with who the new cartoon characters are. We each do the best we can to honor the work people do.

1 comment

by parkermom 07 Jan 2017

Thank you. I feel better, but am still angry that so many sites continue to do this.

Also keep in mind, copyright laws in Europe are not the same as here. European sites may not be breaking any laws by offering "copyrighted" material.
Enjoy the legal design you bought, and don't perhaps, buy from this site again.

3 comments

by asterixsew 07 Jan 2017

Copyright is copyright where ever it is in the world. Any site anywhere offering copyrighted designs is breaking the law unless they own the copyright or are licensed to do so

by parkermom 07 Jan 2017

I don't know the rules about anywhere in the world, but selling Mickey Mouse designs as mister mouse was sure a tipoff.

by mops 08 Jan 2017

Most European countries signed the Swiss convention on this. It's the old behind the Iron Curtain ones that did not, so be aware of sites ending in .ru or .cz And there are quite a few Asian as well, notably China but that's by no means the only one.

It's very difficult sometimes. See how much time we spend combing through sites to be sure there aren't violations? It's a big job.
I personally have done the same thing- before becoming a moderator. I even had one site owner tell me that although she draws all of her own designs that changing the copyrighted design by 10% was acceptable; No, it isn't! Not by law. Not sure where that misnomer started.
At least you are being diligent about looking. I'm sorry you were disappointed.

2 comments

by heidimacemb 07 Jan 2017

The lawyer I spoke with said that as long as the design is identifiable as the copyrighted or trademarked one, it is a violation.

by parkermom 07 Jan 2017

I checked the terms of use for that site, and it says that buyers are prohibited in altering in any way. Kind of ironic for someone who sells pirated designs, isn't it.

Do not be so hard on yourself. You would have not supported the site if you would have seen the copyright violation. It is unreasonable (unless you link the site here) to check out the hundreds of pages a site has to offer. Now, since you know, I would unsubscribe if that is possible and send them a note why you will not be a costumer in the future.

2 comments

by crafter2243 07 Jan 2017

A after thought. Just because the site does offer illegal copyrighted material, does not mean you have done something wrong by purchasing a legal design.

by parkermom 07 Jan 2017

I was most disappointed I guess because I believed I was buying from a person who was talented in digitizing (something that I cannot do) and I was all proud of myself for supporting a small business. I'm not so smug now, for sure.