Looks as if Etsy is cracking down on shop owners who are violating copyright. Good for them! I don't think using other folks' intellectual property for your own gain is ethical or legal. Of course I've had blog articles plagiarized, so I have personal reasons to be pretty strict about this both here and on Facebook's Needlepoint Nation.
http://www.thewriteassistantllc.com/2016/11/09/etsy-shop-shutdowns/
It also looks like they are cracking down on shops selling merchandise that they did not make themselves. I wonder what effect this will have on shops selling needlepoint canvases? I think this is geared towards shops that import items made in Chinese and Thai factories and pass them off as their own creations. I'm pleased about this as I feel Etsy is supposed to be a place for creators to sell their personal handwork.
What are your opinions on this?
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright November 10, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.
5 comments:
Agree! Should be for work that they created. Hubby has a shop there for the woodworking he does and he spends a lot of time creating his pieces.
I think at the very least mass produced items should be labeled as such on Etsy. But I want it to be a place for things folks have made themselves. That's what I am paying for when I buy there, after all!
I agree with both Pat and Jane....Etsy started as a place for people to sell and buy goods that are handmade by the shop owner. I've bought quite a few very nice items that were handmade in media in which I don't craft, such as ceramics or other sculpture medium, or in which I don't want to invest in the tolls and supplies, like hand-dyed yarn. However, I have also found a vintage buttonhole attachment complete with templates for my vintage Singer and small containers to store my beads. I've found the containers elsewhere, but didn't want to buy that much in bulk.
Etsy already tries to have some distinction between handmade and not, with the categories it has, i.e., the category for supplies. But sometimes it's too difficult to tell if one is getting a truly handcrafted item or something mass-produced, so I agree with Jane that there should be more qualifiers in the descriptions.
Cracking down on copyright infringement seems like a good idea. Artists work so hard and get so little in return.
That's the truth! We are lucky in the world of needlepoint that painted canvases are very hard to rip off (although Chinese companies try on eBay occasionally) and the charted designs seem to have escaped the notice of those stealing cross stitch charts. Cross stitch designers have been driven out of business in droves.
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