Say NO to piracy!

WHY SHOULD I NOT SHARE THE FILES?

– Authors have needs like everyone else. We need to pay bills, buy food and buy material to work.

– Although it takes a long time to create a pattern, we sell it for a cheap price, because we earn in quantity, which will meet our needs.

– The artisans buy the pattern, and earn their own money selling the ready-made dolls. Often this investment is paid for on the first product sold.

– This way, authors and artisans manage to make a living from handicrafts.

– When a Someone buys the pattern and distributes it thinking it will help people, he does not realize that he is harming the author, because he will sell less, and perhaps he will not receive what he expected with the sale of the pattern.

– And even though people use the pattern to make the products and sell them, they're not paying the author for the work he did to create the pattern.

– Thus, it is unfeasible for authors to continue making it a profession…

– If you can’t afford a pattern, use a free pattern, there are many out there…

– And if you receive an order for a product that is of a paid pattern, include in the price of the product the amount you will need to buy the pattern.

– And do you know the main advantage of buying a pattern? Have the author's support! If you have any questions at the time of execution, the author will answer your questions and help you!

ABOUT FREE PATTERNS:

– When we make free patterns, we also want to gain something from them: dissemination. So even not making money, we are gaining potential customers from paid patterns.

– Therefore, even though the pattern is free, the correct thing is to share the link where the person can get the pattern, not share the file…

– Authors who give all the patternsfor free on blogs and youtube channels are usually monetizing the publications (they earn money from displayed advertisements), so they can live off that too.

DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH WORK IT TAKES TO CREATE A PATTERN?

Creating a new pattern is not just making the doll… I wish!

Before starting to make the doll, there is a whole research on formats, colors, details, etc.

In addition to the whole process of making and unmaking until it's the way we want, making the doll stopping all the time to write down the pattern and take the step-by-step photos (which greatly increase production time) and always try to do it the easiest way to be reproduced, there are many other steps in the process that take a lot of time and generate costs:

– edit all step by step photos;

– take the final photos, choose the best ones from the 300 photos you took, and edit those photos;

– type the entire pattern;

– insert step-by-step photos;

– explain in more details the parts that are more complicated;

– make charts and diagrams to help understanding;

– write all the material and stitches used in the pattern;

- arrange everything in the file;

– translate into other languages;

– convert to PDF!

There! The PDF is ready! But the work is not over!

– we have to prepare the photos and texts of the advertisements in the stores and publications in social networks;

– add the patterns in the stores;

– advertise on social networks;

– and spend a lot of time answering comments and messages about the pattern…

Authors who send the purchased patterns by email still have to send the file for each sale.

After that, there is still the support work that we provide when someone has doubts about the execution of the pattern…

Ended? Well, this work never ends, because there will always be customer service!

My dream is to hire someone to do all this part of PDF assembly, advertising and customer service… I would become an amigurumi machine!! Lol Does it seem little? I spend more time on this part than creating the doll!!!

WHY DO AUTHORS MAKE PRE-SALE?

We know that many still don't understand that files cannot be distributed, so we are always talking about it to make people aware. But many people already buy the files with the intention of distributing, even knowing (or not accepting) that this is wrong… That's why the authors started to make “pre-sales” at a discount. You buy the file at a discount, but you won't receive the file until a certain date. So we are able to sell a little more before the file is distributed, and with that we are able to keep living off of it.

CAN I ADAPT/CHANGE A PATTERN?

Some authors forbid it, and this will be written in the file, but the vast majority do not, because as soon as you use a different color, it is already an adaptation.

ATTENTION: adapting or changing a pattern does not make it "your creation", so you CANNOT distribute or sell it as your own!

CAN I REPLICATE IT JUST LOOKING AT THE PHOTO?

If you can't (or don't want to) buy the pattern, and you have enough experience to replicate it, can you do it? By law you can't, but let's use common sense:

If the original pattern is available for free or for sale, try to purchase the pattern and support the author.

But often the pattern isn't available in a language you understand, or the author doesn't make the pattern available at all. In these cases, despite not being right, many people do it. Most importantly, you may NOT sell or distribute this pattern without permission from the original creator.

And remember to always credit the original author!

CAN I USE A PATTERN TO MAKE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE?

Only with the author's permission! If the pattern is paid, he probably won't authorize. If the pattern is free, he may authorize it, but you always have to give credit to the author and put the link to the original pattern.

SALE OF COURSES, PACK WITH A THOUSAND PATTERNS AND TRANSLATIONS

No creator authorizes the resale of their patterns (translated or not), and no author I know has ever created a thousand patterns to sell… These people are profiting from authors' work without permission. These packages have free patterns, bad translations and files missing chunks. That's if you're lucky enough to receive the purchased files and don't have a virus… Many don't even crochet and won't know how to clear any doubts.

PATTERNS PURCHASE

Always buy the patterns directly from the authors' stores. Search social media for the author, if you can't find it, ask someone more experienced for help! (you can call me and I'll help!) Many foreign authors sell patterns in several languages! HERE.

If you found a store, a website, or any publication selling patterns, look at the style of the photos, find the name of the author or the “company” and search on social media. See if this vendor actually created the patterns or is just reselling pirated files. There are many sites that sell these courses and packages, many advertisements in facebook groups. When in doubt, ask for help!

HOW TO KNOW IF THE PATTERN IS PIRATED?

If you have a file that you didn't buy directly from the author's store, or you didn't get the free pattern directly from the author's store or social media, then your file is pirated! Look for the author on social networks and buy or get the free pattern through the links indicated by him.

HOW TO KNOW IF THE PATTERN IS NOT FREE?

Most authors write in the file whether it is paid or free, and the social networks and stores where the file can be purchased. If you have a file that doesn't say anything about it and doesn't have the author's social networks, that file is probably pirated. Some people translate patterns from foreign authors and remove this information to resell the file, obviously without the author's authorization and without passing on any sales value to the author.

HOW TO SUPPORT THE AUTHORS?

Only share links from the authors' stores and social networks, even for free patterns. Buy the patterns directly from the authors' stores. When posting a product made with a pattern on social media, cite the author as the creator of the pattern (the famous “pattern by @_____”), this helps to publicize the author's work and helps your friend who wants to make one just like it.

So we keep the market viable for both parties, we keep creating, and you keep having patterns to follow, and sell your products.

SOME LIES:

“I bought it so I can do whatever I want with it, I can distribute it if I want”: No! As I explain further below, you don't buy the ownership of the pattern, you buy the assignment of use specified in the file.

“But if I buy a book, I'll give it to whoever I want”, a physical book you read and pass on to someone else and don't keep a copy. Even for school work, you can't photocopy an entire book, as it is prohibited by law…

“I'll just pass it on to a friend”, this friend will pass it on to another who will pass it on to another who will pass in some distribution group. The author will sell less and you will have paid for the file that many other artisans will use to make money.

"Authors are selfish for charging for patterns, they should give them all away for free". If you think that “everyone has to teach everything for free”, teacher would not be a profession, it would be a hobby… A person invests time learning to do something to earn money from it and be able to support themselves. This is the basis of every profession: you learn and use that knowledge to teach, produce or provide a service.

“The way you say it sounds like whoever distributes is stealing”, yes! This is stealing the creator the right to profit from his creation.

A bit of the boring part: WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?

Every creator of an intellectual work has copyright over his creation and over its use.

Copyright grants to creators a bundle of exclusive rights over their creative works, which include, at a minimum, the right to reproduce, display, make adaptations and distribute copies to the public by sale or another form of transfer

Moral rights, on the other hand, are permanent. Even if an artist has assigned his or her copyright rights to a work to a third party, he or she still maintains the moral rights to the work. The moral rights include the right of attribution, you do this by mentioning the author of the pattern you used, when posting a photo of the final product on your social networks.

When you buy a pattern or get a free pattern, you're not buying ownership of it, you're buying a lease, and the authorizations for that use are usually explained in the file itself. The author defines what can be done with the pattern: if it can be shared, translated, and even if products made with the pattern can be sold or not (yes, there are authors who won't let the finished product be sold, keep an eye out! ).

Free patterns are also included in these rights! They must have their authorship recognized and depend on the author's authorization to be shared or translated. As I said earlier, even though the pattern is free we gain publicity, so always share the link where the pattern can be found, not the file.

Oh, and copyright DOES NOT DEPEND on registration, proof of ownership and authorship of the work is given by prior art, and this can be proven with social media publications. That is, I post the first photo promoting a new pattern, and that already proves that the pattern is mine.

MY OPINION:

 Honestly, I think the world needs more love and respect for others. Many people don't know how to put themselves in someone else's shoes. Would you like them to harm your source of income?

Still have questions or want to talk about it? Contact!