Why, hello there! I am Shawna, your resident attorney-crafter and welcome to my copyright blog. You know, I find that, although there are so many resources on the Internet for learning about copyright laws, among us crafty folks, it is an area of law that is still so misunderstood. If you spend some time on any forum where crafters post, you will notice something straight away - a specific copyright question can garner completely opposite, confusing and/or insufficient responses. It is understandable; copyright law can sometimes feel a little rocket sciency and chock full of 50 shades of grey. I've definitely had my fair share of "wait......what??" moments in my years of studying this area of law.
But, if you are a creator, especially if you sell your items online, having a fairly firm grasp of intellectual property laws is pretty important for a number of reasons. Of course you want to be able to successfully protect your creations from would-be copycats and thieves. So important. Plus, you need to know when and how to defend yourself if someone else claims you have violated their copyright. Finally - and this is the most important - you need basic, overarching and fundamental tools so that you can analyze copyright issues you may encounter and perform proper risk and value assessments. Yes, analysis and risk assessment.
As an former litigator, the vast majority of what I used to do day-to-day can be boiled down to analysis and assessment. Because the parameters of each case are dictated by the facts which underlie them, I had to first analyze documents, facts and other evidence to extract the pertinent information. I then applied that information to the relevant laws to assess the risk or value in a claim or course of action.
For you to do the same, you have to understand: 1) how to spot the legal issue among a set of facts, 2) What the law (statutes and cases) says about that legal issue, 3) how the facts and law combine to determine the potential outcomes (good and bad) and 4) Which outcome is the best choice for your life and situation. When dealing with intellectual property, many times we seek black or white, yes or no answers to a particular question. In reality, there is often a spectrum of options and outcomes; good and not-so-good, ideal and less ideal. As someone who has run an Etsy shop for almost a decade, it is my goal to help us crafters better understand that spectrum since knowledge is power.
Onward!
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