Copyright

All rights are reserved under the Federal copyright law.

Q. What is copyright?

 Copyright is a form of protection, sanctioned by the United States Constitution, that gives artists,  the exclusive right to use and reproduce their works.  All original works can be copyrighted. This includes , art works, sculpture, writings, music, photographs and computer software. Virtually all works created or first published after January 1, 1978 are protected by copyright. Many works created prior to 1978 are also protected. Copyright protects original works of authorship that are fixed in tangible form. This includes photographs, literary works including non-fiction and fiction, letters, music, lyrics, sound recordings, pictorial, graphic and sculptural works, motion pictures, audiovisual works, computer software, and architectural works. Personal letters, e mails, catalog descriptions and doodles are protected by copyright. To copyright a work it has to be an original.

The Copyright Act is federal law, not state law. therefore, the law is uniform throughout the United States. Because the United States has signed several international copyright agreements, copyright protection is effective essentially all over the world.

 1. Owners of copyright have the exclusive right to use and copy their works.

2. Copyright owners can also authorize others to use their works.

3. The use or copying of any work without permission from the owner of the copyright is a violation of the United States Copyright Act.

Copyright gives the creator or author of a work the power to control the work. The owner of the copyright has the exclusive right to control if, when, how and how often his or her work can be used or copied. The person who creates a work is the owner of the copyright.

1. The unauthorized use of a copyrighted work is called an infringement.

2. The Copyright Act provides  stiff penalties for infringing copyrighted works.

3. Penalties can include monetary damages, all attorney fees and possibly all profits earned by the infringers from the unauthorized use of the copyrighted work.

4. A court may also order the destruction of all infringing copies.

5.  It is not necessary to have set proof that someone has copied a work in order to prove copyright infringement.

6. Infringement can be established simply by proving that the alleged infringer had access to the copyrighted work and that the offending work is significantly similar to the original.

7. Just because you own  photograph, a painting or any other copyrighted work does not give you the right to copy or to use the work other than for personal use.

8. You could commission an artist to paint your portrait but you would only be able to frame and display the work. Unless both parties agree, the artist owns the copyright and the work cannot be copied or reproduced, unless that artist sells or gives the copyright away.

9. No one can photocopy an entire book or pattern packet without violating the copyright owners exclusive rights in the work. 

10. If you photocopy a copyrighted image without permission it is infringement.

11. When there is an infringement, the owner of the copyright can sue for damages.

12. All lawsuits for copyright infringement will be brought to federal court, not state court.

13. The owner of a copyright can always claim whatever damages he has actually sustained as a result of an infringement plus whatever profits were earned by the infringers from the unauthorized use of a work.

14.  The owner of the copyright can elect to seek the whichever is greater his actual damages plus the profits earned by the person who infringed  or damages of up to $100,000 plus attorney's fees and court costs.

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I know that the copyright laws are very confusing . Because of this I am listing my statement here in simple terms so you can understand it thoroughly remember that as an artist I have this right.

Every time  someone copies a pattern or shares  one it takes hard earned money away from the designer.   Designers are just like you we  love to paint, we love to design projects for you. to paint. When we hear  someone doing this  it hurts us deeply not only  financially but  emotionally. I believe in treating people with kindness and I truly love sharing my art with you.

f you purchase one of my pattern packets or books, please be respectful of my copyright. This will help me to maintain my small business, so I can continue to design special projects for all to enjoy!  Plus it will help our industry!

Thank you for reading this I truly appreciate you taking the time!

If you do not understand the Federal Copyright Laws please go here:

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/

What you can do with my designs:

1.         All my designs, to include packets, books, magazine projects, written articles, illustrations, etc., may be painted for your own personal use and to aid in your further study of decorative painting.

2.     You may sell any of my designs that are painted by yourself only.

3.     You  may also give them away as gifts.

4.      You have permission to advertise any of my designs that you personally hand paint and want to sell, be it on the Internet, or any other avenue you choose. A courtesy I will appreciate is giving me credit as the designer of the original.

5.      You can enlarge or reduce the pattern to fit your surface.

What you cannot do:

1.        You cannot mass produce in any quantity.

2.    You cannot copy, scan or reproduce any written instructions,.

3.    You cannot copy technique instructions or step- by-step worksheets.

4.     You cannot copy photos  or close up photos,  illustrations, or any other part of the design.

5.     You cannot re-write any of the written instructions, be it in part, or whole..

6.    You  cannot use  the designs  offered for sale on this website for digital reproduction.

7.     You  may not recreate these designs using any graphic design software such as Paint Shop Pro.  Changing my designs into digital painting is strictly prohibited. 

8.    You cannot scan a photo or take a photo  of my designs to sell on Ebay.

9.    you cannot copy my designs and pass them onto friends, SDP chapters or students.

For Teachers

I am very grateful that you want to teach my designs. I do have a  few requirements:

1.        I would prefer that you purchase a book or pattern packet  for every student. I do give you a very good quantity discount which you can pass on to your students.

2.         If that is not possible, (1) line drawing per student is permitted to be copied and distributed. Please make sure that I am given credit as the designer on the line drawing by printing my name with the line drawing.

 If you have any further questions you can contact me at: shiningfeather@comcast.net

All my designs, to include packets, books, magazine projects, written articles, illustrations, etc., may be painted for your own personal use and to aid in your further study of decorative painting. You may sell any of my designs that are painted by yourself only. You may also give them away as gifts. You have permission to advertise any of my designs that you personally hand paint and want to sell, be it on the Internet, or any other avenue you choose. A courtesy I will appreciate is giving me credit as the designer of the original.

Mass production of any quantity is strictly prohibited.

Teaching my designs is encouraged and appreciated. One copy of the line drawing of said design may be mechanically reproduced, (copied) for reducing, enlarging and/or study purposes for teaching.
 

I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my "Terms of Use" and for your interest in my designs

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