<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Ivan:<div><br></div><div>Thank you for sharing your experience. You have a way with words and a gift of kindness.</div><div><br></div><div>I don't think there is a carver around who has not considered the possibility of copyright infringement for some reason or another.</div><div><br></div><div>My fears of being sued ended when I started using totally original resources for all my carvings. By this I mean photos that came from my camera, drawings that came from my hand. I was simply so frustrated with using the photos and resources of others with the constant worry and nagging conscience that accompanies it. Even if copyright infringement was not an issue in a particular design, finding a suitable carving/photo resource in the library or on the internet was so frustrating, time consuming and unprofitable that it was easier to take the time to take my own photos and draw my own patterns.</div><div><br></div><div>I might sound like a broken record, but allow me to repeat a previous posting or two with the following:</div><div>Admittedly, not everyone can learn to draw, but those with enough aptitude would do well to extend their drawing skills so they depend less on the work of others.</div><div>Digital photography is one of the best tools for those who wish to begin creating their own patterns. Digital photos (enlarged on a color photocopier) coupled with a light table (even a window) allow you can trace most anything and end up with an accurate line drawing. From there you can compose your carving pattern.</div><div><br><div apple-content-edited="true"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: American Typewriter; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: American Typewriter; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; ">I train my students likewise to use all original resources in their relief carving. So they bring photos and other resources into the studio which we then use to build an original design. If you wish to see some of the results, go to:</span></div><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: American Typewriter; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><a href="http://wwwoodcarver.com/StudentCarvings/index.html">http://wwwoodcarver.com/StudentCarvings/index.html</a></span></div><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><br></div><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: American Typewriter; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; ">Of course, if you do not intend to SELL your carvings, the issue of copyright infringement fades away. But even if that is the case, a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; ">poor</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; ">carving</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: American Typewriter; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "> that is original is still better than a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; ">great</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; ">carving</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: American Typewriter; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "> that is a copy. <br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: American Typewriter; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><div><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div><div>Blessings and Peace,</div><div><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div><div>Bill</div><div><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div><div>Bill Judt</div><div>46 Harvard Crescent,</div><div>Saskatoon, SK, Canada</div><div>S7H3R1</div><div><a href="mailto:bjudt@sasktel.net">bjudt@sasktel.net</a></div><div><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div></span></span></div></span></div><div><div id="MailContainerBody" style="PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 15px" bgcolor="#ffffff" leftmargin="0" topmargin="0" canvastabstop="true" name="Compose message area"><div><div><font face="Arial" size="2">Apologies, guys, but to carvers venturing into selling, this thread can be very important. </font></div></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Years ago, had I been privy to the thread that just took place, I might have been saved some grief and embarrassment. Unfortunately, I was not given such a "heads up" on copyrights and thus we used some pictures in a cut and paste catalog that we just assumed were OK to use. They weren't. We got sued.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">So, whenever someone talks of going into carving on a commercial level, I urge them to get acquainted with the copyright laws. Lawsuits may happen rarely, but they DO happen. Holders of copyrights have the right to protect their property, and so anyone who sells creations <strong>that are based on other people's materials</strong> should understand that it could have ramifications.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Back then, had we been more aware of copyright law we could have avoided some grief and ill will. Thus, whenever I can, I encourage anyone who wants to sell to become informed to avoid those types of problems.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">My advice comes from "been there!"</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><strong><font face="Tahoma" size="2">Ivan Whillock Studio<br></font></strong></div></div></div></div></body></html>