Ok, I'm going in a different direction for this post, so get ready! This topic is SO very important, and it continues to be something that myself and fellow bloggers are faced with. Please stick with me through this one because it is CRUCIAL for you to understand this stuff, just as I am having to learn it all myself!
What is copyright?
Copyright laws go way back and are in place to protect intellectual property of authors. That can be me, you, or anyone else who can create a piece of work of their own idea. Work is copyrighted from the moment it is created!
Why is copyright important to me?
I work really hard. It is a lot of time and energy to create the materials that I make. The thought that someone could steal my ideas or share them without giving proper credit, really hurts me. Everything that I have written and/or created on this blog or in my TPT store is my intellectual property (unless otherwise stated) and I own the copyright to it. I go through the process of securing my documents to protect my work, but I can only do so much.
Why is copyright important to you?
Plain and simple? It's the law. Violating someone's copyright is illegal.
What is a violation?
Copying, sharing, claiming someone else's work as your own to name a few. You can have special permission to share or use someone's work, but it must be expressed directly from the author. Let's take an example of something that you purchased from my store. You bought it, you love it, and your co-worker says “I'd love to have that!”. You CAN direct her to my store to purchase a copy herself. You CAN NOT print a copy it for her or send her the file. You also cannot copy text and/or images from my products to put into a new document to ‘tweak' them. Each of my files says this statement:
“This product is for individual use only. You may not copy, share, or resell.”
To violate this, would be copyright infringement, which again, is illegal. When you buy something, it doesn't give you the rights to the product. It only gives you the ability to use it. TPT has a wonderful multiple user license you can purchase if you have the intentions of sharing. The same way that you wouldn't copy a book from Super Duper and give it to someone. You would say “I got it from Super Duper, go order one, I love it!”
Why in the world is Jenn lecturing us on copyright?
I'm not lecturing, am I??? 🙂 But this is serious. I was recently asked why my products are password protected. It came to my attention that many people may not exactly understand the terms of use when it comes to TPT products. That my work and the work of my bloggy buddies is protected the exact same way that any major company is protected. I do password protect my work from editing and copying as a way to secure the document. I also must do that to comply with the terms of use for most of the clipart I put in my materials. It is only password protected to keep someone from editing or copying. That is all.
How can I learn more?
Copyright is rocky terrain. It can be very confusing and I am still learning. Here is more information on copyright that you might be interested in reading:
- My friend Katie, over at Playing With Words 365, has done a great blog post about blog content that you can check out HERE.
- AND Katie did another post on all the work that goes into blogging that you can read HERE.
- The U.S. Copyright Office has it's own website you can read HERE.
The bottom line is, please don't. Please don't share, copy, resell, or change my work… or any other person's work. Would you want that done to you?
If you have a question, ask! I am always happy to answer a question you might have regarding this stuff.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this…please share your comments with me!
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Thanks for this, Jenn! It’s an important topic that definitely needed to be addressed. Everyone likes their ideas and hard work to be respected, and this is how you respect ours!
Lauren
Busy Bee Speech
Great summary! Librarians are a wonderful resource for copyright and licensing laws. I lucked out in that my sister is a librarian, but my school district’s librarians are also very knowledgable.
All Y’all Need
Very good point Laura! Librarians are wonderful resources!
Thank you, thank you, thank you Jenn for informing others about this important topic!
Thanks for writing this, Jenn!! It is an important topic for all of our readers to understand and you wrote it very well.
Carissa
Home Sweet Speech Room
Fantastic post Jenn! Love it! And thanks for mentioning my posts too! 🙂 I’ll be sharing this for SURE!!! And PINNING!
Thanks Katie! AND You’re welcome! 🙂
This can never be stressed enough and the public cannot be over informed on this topic. I wrote a piece on this last October 🙂
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2012/10/copyrights-word-to-wise.html
Thanks for sharing your post Dean!
Thank you for sharing, Jenn! A very important topic.
Well said!
Written perfectly! Thanks so much!
Great informative post!!
I would love to find out more info on how to add clip art to products to sell. I see such cute pics and fonts but I am confused on how to use them legally.
Hi Teresa! When you buy clip art, you just need to check the sellers Terms of Use…usually found pretty easily on their site. It will tell you exactly what you can and can’t do with their clipart. Hope that helps some!
Jenn, love the sequencing activity you devised in your latest Pirate theme unit!
Great post! I am curious about the password? I always convert my stuff to pdf, but I was totally unaware of the password. I was thinking that locked the file and prohibited it from being printed. I would love to learn a little more on how it works! I am also following you on TPT, FB, Twitter, Pinterest, and Bloglovin’! I am a special education teacher, so I love finding things from SLP’s, too!!
By the way, cute blog design!! I am in the process of getting one made. I can’t wait to have a customized design. 🙂 After visiting your blog, I am a little antsy for mine to be finished!
Teaching with TLC,
A Tender Teacher for Special Needs
Thank you Tasha! Just converting to PDF doesn’t secure the document. There are different options for security, one being to password protect from copying text and images from the document. There are others, including to keep from printing, but you don’t have to choose those. It depends on what you use to convert to PDF.
Thank you for the follows, I am following you too now! I love finding Special Ed friends 🙂
And thank you! I LOVE my blog design, Tessa did a great job 🙂 Excited to see yours!!!
I am going to work on securing all of mine!! I am sure there are plenty of tutorials out there. Thanks so much for this info.
Teaching with TLC,
A Tender Teacher for Special Needs
I have a question about the copyright topic. If I download an item that is offered for free, can I share or make a copy for a coworker since it was free? Is that illegal? Please advise. Thanks!
That’s a great question! You would think that it is fine since it is free, but unless you have permission from the author, it’s not. Some authors give you permission within the document, but most don’t. For example, in my documents they say “Do not share”, which goes for freebies too. It is all to protect the rights of the author. Instead of copying for someone or sending them the file, you should be directing them to where they can download it themselves. Most often when you download anything (including freebies) you are given a single user license to use that product. Even though I know that it is much easier to just make an extra copy for a friend, you shouldn’t be doing it without permission.
Thank you so much for the info. I know that this posted a while ago but I am just getting started on TPT and have a question. Do I need to purchase protection through the copyright office or am I simply protected when I publish?
Thanks for your help!
Sharon
Hi Sharon! You have a certain amount of protection when you publish. I’ve never purchased protection from the copyright office.
I purchased a product from tpt and took it to office max have a color copied and laminated. They would not print it because it says “you may not copy share or resell”. I wouldn’t have bought it if I could make a copy of it. Now I have a $35 product that I cannot get printed. Thoughts?
Hi Lisa! Just contact the TPT seller, I’m sure they would write you a letter to give permission for Office Max to print it. Sometimes, those print centers don’t understand the nature of TPT products so it can be confusing. I hope that helps!