Response from: Miachelle

There is a lot of debate over the copyrighting circle in jewelry discussions. There are those who believe as you do, and there are others who believe their jewelry is as much a work of art to be protected as a painting or a drawing or a song. I think I lean more toward your side-I've personally been attacked for wanting to share techniques and methods, having my desire to learn turned into accusations of copying someone's work. (Needless to say the intended learning collaboration never happened.) I think perhaps artists of all nature should take a course in copyright law-it would save a lot of heartache and needless arguments. I do have to disagree with you regarding the use of .pdf's on websites, for the actual purpose of protection. My own opinion is that there are enough vindictive people out there who manipulate written and spoken words of others. Wiki's, for example, are a huge concern when it comes to accuracy of verbage. I hate to think what would happen if a dissatisfied customer or a less-than-scrupulous competitor had the ability to take a press release or some other information and misuse it. At least .pdf's offer a more difficult document to take information from. Just my .02. Miachelle

Response from: Tammy

Thanks for weighing in on this. The thing with press releases is that they are written to be copied and passed around. If you can't copy them, and many pdf files don't allow you to do that, then my point is what good is the press release in the first place?

Response from: sguyot

Tammy this is a very provoking post and goes right to the throat. You see the jewelry business has a paranoid streak with roots a mile deep. I'm not sure of its origins but I am sure of its existence. When I first went "on the road" selling to jewelry manufacturers I was really taken back by the "secret" mentallity right down to the peak holes in the doors. After awhile I began to realize that the industry was a den of big time "knock off artists" and those that had any original thought had to protect it, and the rest could never admit that their "designer" was the competition down the street or even the loft next door ! As far as copyrights and patents in jewelry is concerned let me relate a story. Years ago a huge fad "The Mood Ring" swept through the industry. (Huge like 50,000 pcs + per day production.) One firm actually had patent applications pending when this fad started to gather steam. Upon learning of the this patent application I asked one of our settings customers (a seasoned industry veteran) about this and what he thought and felt. His reply was simple, "By the time any legal rights to this can be established and then legal action taken I will have made so much money that I'll be able to settle out of court without even feeling it. But I don't think it will ever reach that point...un quote. So even though I agree that a little more openess would be nice, there are some high barriers, some real, some imagined.