09/23/2019
“Do this and you’re a thief. Plain and simple.“
This post was in a FB quilting group and was brought to my attention. I’ve edited out the name of the person who posted it and also the many people who thought it was a wonderful idea, however I can’t unsee it and let it slide. This is stealing people. Photocopying a designers pattern, be it from a book- yes, even a library book- or from a pdf, a printed pattern or a Block or the Month, is a breach of copyright and also just plain sh*tty. You are taking the hard work of someone who gets paid very little anyway, stealing that content and taking money straight from the designers pocket. This is apparently someone you admire or you wouldn’t want their pattern in the first place. Accepting the pattern from the person who photocopies it is just as bad. You can give someone your pattern if you’ve finished with it - although that measly $12 or $15 for most patterns you just saved also came directly out of the pocket of a designer you admire- but “lending” it or copying it is really really not cool. I have had this happen on many occasions, including discovering one person in a group buying my BOM program and then giving it out to all their friends, people photocopying from their friends books to bring to my classes and even a shop selling a PDF pattern they bought in my online shop, photocopied and then sold with kits for the quilt. Do this and you’re a thief. Plain and simple. If you see this behavior in a group you belong to, please call it out, or tell the designer being ripped off so that they can deal with it.
Ps. If you’re the person who wrote this post, feel free to contact me. I’m not taking it down, I didn’t name you- but I’m happy to give you a lesson in not taking other people’s things that you should have learned from your mama.
