firstly I must say that I am so very happy that I have so many loyal followers because if it wasn't for you lovely bloggers I think I would consider not publishing any more tutorials and I hope I will never have to write a post about this subject again ~ I truly mean this.
Why am I writing this post?... because you don't accidentally copy some one's photos and accidentally place your name on them.
We are back to the very touchy subject of people copying my tutorials again. Especially after the last time and especially after I posted a new tutorial. Not only copying but now actually placing their name on my photographs and sketches.
This is something I discovered on Pinterest a few days ago, when I saw one of my photos of my little flutter~by with somebody elses name on it and linked to their blog, where my tutorial was copied by using my photographs and all of them had her name on them and this was not only for my butterfly tutorial ~ she did the same with my little flower tutorial too on the same page. This blogger did mention my name and Todolwen right at the end but not even in a way to make it known that she was just sharing my work.You would think that the photographs were hers and that they were pictures of items she made. She did the same with my origami butterfly tutorial ~ this time without her name on my photos ~ which I found on her blog as well.
Thankfully L. Bailey who had repined my butterfly read a comment about this that I left on Pinterest and changed the name of the owner of the image and the link as well.
We are back to the very touchy subject of people copying my tutorials again. Especially after the last time and especially after I posted a new tutorial. Not only copying but now actually placing their name on my photographs and sketches.
This is something I discovered on Pinterest a few days ago, when I saw one of my photos of my little flutter~by with somebody elses name on it and linked to their blog, where my tutorial was copied by using my photographs and all of them had her name on them and this was not only for my butterfly tutorial ~ she did the same with my little flower tutorial too on the same page. This blogger did mention my name and Todolwen right at the end but not even in a way to make it known that she was just sharing my work.You would think that the photographs were hers and that they were pictures of items she made. She did the same with my origami butterfly tutorial ~ this time without her name on my photos ~ which I found on her blog as well.
Thankfully L. Bailey who had repined my butterfly read a comment about this that I left on Pinterest and changed the name of the owner of the image and the link as well.
Thank you so much L.Bailey from the UK.
If you read this please drop me a line via e-mail.
So ... after not even a month since the last case of something like this I have decided that from now on all my photographs that have to do with my tutorials will be watermarked and anybody copying my tutorials/photos making it look like they are theirs will be named here on Todolwen. I did not make this decision very easily but I am hoping that people will think before they do this again to me, or for that matter, any other blogger.
~
Update:
I found this lady on Pinterest and I hate to say that she has done this with many other people's photos/work as well, even a few ladies that I know here in blogland which I will be contacting via e-mail privately. She has added her name onto their photos and linked them back to her blog and if you didn't know the tutorial or the work before visiting her blog, you are easily misled to believe that the photos are hers since she sometimes only states: "Based on the scheme from ..." which ever blog she copied it from.
~
I hope I haven't or ever will offend any of you with anything I write.
I just hope you understand me.
Thank you so much.
I hope you are well and life is treating you kind my dear friends.
Have a peaceful and creative day,
Karen B.
~
Update:
I found this lady on Pinterest and I hate to say that she has done this with many other people's photos/work as well, even a few ladies that I know here in blogland which I will be contacting via e-mail privately. She has added her name onto their photos and linked them back to her blog and if you didn't know the tutorial or the work before visiting her blog, you are easily misled to believe that the photos are hers since she sometimes only states: "Based on the scheme from ..." which ever blog she copied it from.
~
I hope I haven't or ever will offend any of you with anything I write.
I just hope you understand me.
Thank you so much.
I hope you are well and life is treating you kind my dear friends.
Have a peaceful and creative day,
Karen B.
Hi Karen, I think that it's only fitting that you should watermark everything you post on your blog. Your loyal followers, I'm sure, wouldn't mind one iota and would definitely not be offended.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should list the sites and bloggers who are claiming your tutorials as their own.
Shame on them.
It is just so sad that people stoop to this kind of behavior. So sorry that it has happened to you again, Karen. I post a photo etiquette blurb on my blog, and still people will not change the link on something that was shared on my linky party to original post. I change them when I see them, but have a hard time keeping up with it.
ReplyDeleteI think publishing their names will definitely help put the brakes on stealing your property.
Continue to smile and create, and don't let them get to you. They are very small people, with small minds.
Hugs to you,
Becky
It's a very sad day when credit is not given to you for the gorgeous work that you do in creating your wonderful projects. It makes me sad for you - I hope you do what you can to make this stop.
ReplyDeleteThinking of you,
Bonnie
Dear Karen,
ReplyDeleteYou are exceedingly gracious in the manner in which you have shared your trauma. No one could possibly be offended, save those with a guilty conscience, and they not justly so. Please DO watermark your photos. We don't want you ill-treated! It makes US angry for you! ...and hurt for you, as well.
All the best, and may life, other bloggers, and Pinteresst posters treat YOU kindly!
Michele
I can't imagine any of your fans or Blogger followers being offended by anything you say when it comes to protecting your lovely creations or intellectual property Karen. and as Becky said....they are small people with small minds! I suppose one has to feel sad for them in that they must be so insecure in themselves and their own abilities that they have to 'steal' ideas from others and put their own names to it. Sad people with sad minds as well.
ReplyDeleteI think watermarks are definitely the way to go with your images. So many others do it already.
It's your right to protect your work any way you can in this techie world! :)
I am so sorry to read about this. I can't imagine why they think that they won't be found out. The web may be vast, but it's also very small within certain groups. I agree about the watermarks, but if this kind of thing continues, maybe all of your tutorials should be made available on your Etsy site, instead of on this website.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that other bloggers have often shown photos of something they made using another person's tutorial, but instead of posting the tutorial, they provide a link to the actual tutorial (usually thanking the person for sharing the tutorial with the rest of the blog world). That has always seem right to me. And... the readers are introduced to a blog they may not have known about, in the process.
I wish you didn't have to deal with this nasty issue when you have been so open and trusting on your blog. Most of us would *not* treat you so badly, and I hope that your trust in the blog world in general isn't broken. We love and respect you and are so very glad you are out there. I know that I enjoy your stories, your constant creativity, and the "youness" of you. I am delighted by every post you write, and thank you for being part of my world.
Dear Karen,
ReplyDeleteI think you treated that person very kind and gently- as I think I might have mentioned her blog, for othere to go see if they would find some "belongings" too!!
How can someone ,doing that on purpose, even look at herself in the mirror after such things.
I understand your anger! I know if you are fast repinning things, names are missed now and then, but on purpose place ones own name on the photoes, is not what a desent person would do!!
Hugs,Dorthe
How frustrating and infuriating. I agree with Michelle that you could not possibly offend anyone by this post except those that are guilty of this. It's such a same the extra work that has to go into posting a picture on the web these days. I was just thinking yesterday about how I should really start watermarking all my photos before I post them anywhere. Keep creating and hopefully your post will help curtail this kind of thing.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to say that this is exactly why I so thoroughly dislike Pinterest and why I do not pin myself. It makes it far too easy to infringe people's copyright, almost seems to encourage it, and nobody seems to care, least of all Pinterest themselves. I am so sorry that you are facing the same problem again so soon after the last one. Please do name the person/persons who are doing this, I'd love to visit them ;-). In the meantime, I hope you are not giving up on sharing with us, you know how much we all love your posts and your creations and how much we appreciate your tutorials. xxx
ReplyDeletethat's terrible!!! so sorry to hear that! glad you're watermarking them now!
ReplyDeleteDo keep posting. I enjoy your blog. I don't know how to watermark my pictures but I'm going to check into it. I don't put tutorials on my blog, but it wouldn't hurt to protect all our pictures. Thanks, Nancy
ReplyDeleteSo sorry this has happened to you, yet again!!! For sure use the watermark......and please publish the names of the blogs, we need to visit them!!! Love your tuts and have tried many of your crafts, but never would publish them..really, how crude......hugs...cleo
ReplyDeleteThis is awful. I just did a google image search to see who it was and am appalled. As you know I post your DIYs on my blog but I ONLY use a finished photo of your DIY and a link back to you! I am not surprised one of the sites is Russian - they've done this to a lot of my online blogging friends (and duitang.com in Asia) - but not to the extent of putting their own watermark on the photos. You should definitely call them out publicly because I find exposing things like this often helps (like EPBOT did when her flip flop hanger tutorial was taken by a major magazine without authorization).
ReplyDeleteKaren, I appreciate your posting the information about being copied by an unethical blogger. It is only in the shining of light on these dark corners where dishonest individuals lurk to steal from the creative accomplishments of others. Each one of us has available a wide "family" of contacts and can disseminate the name and blog information for folks who have lifted illegally your words and tutorials to everyone we know. Thank you for once again posting this information for your followers. Kristin
ReplyDeleteI love your work and I hate to see this happen... I would love to know the lady doing it.. I don't think it is right for some one to do this.. I always water mark my pictures.. but I think not in a way they couldn't cut me out.. I have only been following about a month but your work is so very lovely .. I wish youd share who even if its in a email to me.. I want to see if mine are there...
ReplyDeleteHi Karen, wow, you are the second blogger in the last month that has had photos and tutorials stolen. I agree with all the above comments. Water mark everything. I have been making your little crochet flowers like crazy here, and sadly others are not going to experience your warmth if they find the tutorial some other place. I am not a blogger but just a 'happy face' out here appreciating all you do. I feel you are being so kind, and if you feel justified to list their offending names, I know a lot of us out here will surely carry on the message!! "Thou shalt not steal!" Blessings and hope your cold is better too.
ReplyDeleteWith all the friends you have, you will always have your name covered! The people who steal will be found out eventually. It's really too bad you have to deal with this, though.
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog awhile ago and I also just joined Pinterest.....I have been pinning sewing stuff and pin cushions of course so I shall make sure they link back to here. I think they do because I usually try it out before I pin it. I was very surprised to see that lots of my blog pictures were on Pinterest but they were all nice people that said good things. I do watermark most of my photos but there was a time when I first started to blog that I didn't know how. So sorry you have to go through this......I love your blog and you are so creative!!!! I must say that I did make a pin cushion from my old salt lids and then I saw that you had some on Pinterest, I like yours way better than mine!!!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Mags
xx