Crochetville LLC
February 28, 2008, 10:18 AM
These guidelines are in place to protect Crochetville against the possibility of any legal action related to contributory copyright and/or trademark infringement. Please become familiar with these guidelines and follow them so Crochetville is not exposed to legal jeopardy. :)
We do our very best to respect copyright and trademark laws at all times. We also respect the rights of designers and copyright owners to place restrictions on the ways their patterns can be used. Therefore, some of our guidelines may be a little stricter than what is actually required by law.
If you have questions about the guidelines, feel free to PM AmyS (http://www.crochetville.org/forum/member.php?u=102) at any time.
Guidelines
1. If it's not yours, don't post it. Do not include in your posts any text or photos you find in other places on the internet or published anywhere else. Provide a link to a website or give a reference to the published source instead.
2. Do not copy a post, Private Message, or email received through Crochetville and post it here on Crochetville or anywhere else unless you have permission from the person who posted it or sent it to you.
3. Do not ask other members to send you copies of patterns. You may ask for an original only.
4. Do not offer to send other members copies of patterns. You may send originals only, and you must also destroy any working copies you have made.
5. Do not post links to sites that feature scanned images of copyrighted patterns unless they state they have the permission of the original copyright holder.
6. Do not post a link (in a post or in your signature) to any site or blog that is selling items crocheted from copyrighted patterns without stating they have the permission of the original copyright holder or have received legal advice that the item is not protected under copyright law. This most especially includes your own site or blog.
7. Do not post patterns featuring a trademarked character/image unless you have obtained permission from the trademark owner (usually called a licensing arrangement). If you do have that permission, this must be specifically stated in your post. Admin may also request a written copy of that permission for our legal files.
8. Do not post links to websites that feature patterns of trademarked characters if the sites do not specifically state that they have proper licensing arrangements or permission from the trademark owner. Do not post specific instructions or hints on how to find these patterns without a link.
9. If a pattern is no longer available on a specific website, please do not post a link to that pattern through the ******* Machine or any other internet archive or hint around at how people can find it through a search themselves. We are currently researching and consulting with an intellectual property attorney to determine whether there is a legal issue with distributing such links. We will let you know if we are able to allow posting of archived links here at Crochetville.
How to Report a Suspected Violation
If you notice a post that you believe is in violation of any of these guidelines, please PM AmyS (http://www.crochetville.org/forum/member.php?u=102) with a link to the post in question or use the "Report Post" feature (the little white triangle outlined in red at the top of the post).
Consequences for Violations
Most violations are not malicious, but are just because the poster isn't fully aware of our guidelines. On the first instance of a violation, I will contact the poster to 1) ask them to read our guidelines and 2) let me know they understand and will abide by them in future. I will also offer an opportunity for the poster to ask for clarification on any guideline issues they don't understand.
If a poster continues to violate our guidelines regarding copyright/trademark again or refuses to respond to me about the two points above, we may have to remove their Crochetville membership.
How to Avoid Violations
Re-read the guidelines on a regular basis so they are fresh in your mind. If you are posting a link to a site, do your best to be familiar with the content on their site. If you have doubts about whether a link is appropriate to post or not, send a PM to AmyS (http://www.crochetville.org/forum/member.php?u=102) and ask if there's a problem.
If You Believe Your Copyright/Trademark Has Been Violated
Please send a Private Message to AmyS (http://www.crochetville.org/forum/member.php?u=102) or click the Contact Us (http://www.crochetville.org/forum/sendmessage.php) link at the bottom of any forum page and provide us with the following information:
Identify the work that you claim has been infringed
Provide a link to the material's location on Crochetville
Your name, address, telephone number, and email address
A statement that you have a good-faith believe that the disputed use is not authorized by law
A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information you are submitting is accurate and that you are the owner of the copyrighted material or are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner
Your digital or physical signatureUpon receipt of this information, we will do our best to remove the offending material as quickly as possible.
We do our very best to respect copyright and trademark laws at all times. We also respect the rights of designers and copyright owners to place restrictions on the ways their patterns can be used. Therefore, some of our guidelines may be a little stricter than what is actually required by law.
If you have questions about the guidelines, feel free to PM AmyS (http://www.crochetville.org/forum/member.php?u=102) at any time.
Guidelines
1. If it's not yours, don't post it. Do not include in your posts any text or photos you find in other places on the internet or published anywhere else. Provide a link to a website or give a reference to the published source instead.
2. Do not copy a post, Private Message, or email received through Crochetville and post it here on Crochetville or anywhere else unless you have permission from the person who posted it or sent it to you.
3. Do not ask other members to send you copies of patterns. You may ask for an original only.
4. Do not offer to send other members copies of patterns. You may send originals only, and you must also destroy any working copies you have made.
5. Do not post links to sites that feature scanned images of copyrighted patterns unless they state they have the permission of the original copyright holder.
6. Do not post a link (in a post or in your signature) to any site or blog that is selling items crocheted from copyrighted patterns without stating they have the permission of the original copyright holder or have received legal advice that the item is not protected under copyright law. This most especially includes your own site or blog.
7. Do not post patterns featuring a trademarked character/image unless you have obtained permission from the trademark owner (usually called a licensing arrangement). If you do have that permission, this must be specifically stated in your post. Admin may also request a written copy of that permission for our legal files.
8. Do not post links to websites that feature patterns of trademarked characters if the sites do not specifically state that they have proper licensing arrangements or permission from the trademark owner. Do not post specific instructions or hints on how to find these patterns without a link.
9. If a pattern is no longer available on a specific website, please do not post a link to that pattern through the ******* Machine or any other internet archive or hint around at how people can find it through a search themselves. We are currently researching and consulting with an intellectual property attorney to determine whether there is a legal issue with distributing such links. We will let you know if we are able to allow posting of archived links here at Crochetville.
How to Report a Suspected Violation
If you notice a post that you believe is in violation of any of these guidelines, please PM AmyS (http://www.crochetville.org/forum/member.php?u=102) with a link to the post in question or use the "Report Post" feature (the little white triangle outlined in red at the top of the post).
Consequences for Violations
Most violations are not malicious, but are just because the poster isn't fully aware of our guidelines. On the first instance of a violation, I will contact the poster to 1) ask them to read our guidelines and 2) let me know they understand and will abide by them in future. I will also offer an opportunity for the poster to ask for clarification on any guideline issues they don't understand.
If a poster continues to violate our guidelines regarding copyright/trademark again or refuses to respond to me about the two points above, we may have to remove their Crochetville membership.
How to Avoid Violations
Re-read the guidelines on a regular basis so they are fresh in your mind. If you are posting a link to a site, do your best to be familiar with the content on their site. If you have doubts about whether a link is appropriate to post or not, send a PM to AmyS (http://www.crochetville.org/forum/member.php?u=102) and ask if there's a problem.
If You Believe Your Copyright/Trademark Has Been Violated
Please send a Private Message to AmyS (http://www.crochetville.org/forum/member.php?u=102) or click the Contact Us (http://www.crochetville.org/forum/sendmessage.php) link at the bottom of any forum page and provide us with the following information:
Identify the work that you claim has been infringed
Provide a link to the material's location on Crochetville
Your name, address, telephone number, and email address
A statement that you have a good-faith believe that the disputed use is not authorized by law
A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information you are submitting is accurate and that you are the owner of the copyrighted material or are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner
Your digital or physical signatureUpon receipt of this information, we will do our best to remove the offending material as quickly as possible.