Friday, November 28, 2014

Open letter to Amanda

Hello Amanda,
   I'm not sure what your financial and moral situations are that led up to you joining the Chinese pattern sharing forum. I don't have any vendetta against you in particular, you just happened to be more obvious than most of the thieves so it was easy to single you out for example.
   It always leaves me with a knot of anger in my stomach when I see my charts posted up on the sites for the downloading.  Seriously, how would you like to see something that you've spent hours developing as a saleable product being passed out for free. Actually it's worse than just giving them away for free. To download them, I know that you have to further propagate the piracy by uploading different charts to the forum. I wonder who you sold out to download my pattern.
   My daughter's college doesn't take "gold coins" for her tuition. The grocery store doesn't accept them either, nor the vet, nor the power company. Perhaps you think we designers are swimming in dough from all the legal sales and don't really miss the gravy. If you were to look at how many of my charts were posted in that forum, and calculate how many downloads each, and how much lost sales, you might be surprised at how high the figure was. Perhaps you don't realize what a small percentage of the retail price from a legal sale ends up in an account from which I can pay for those groceries.
   From your Facebook pictures, I can see you have a young son. Are these the lessons you are teaching him? He'll grow up to be a real gem, I'm sure.
   I particularly like the way you waved your arms around and Facebook deleted everything from my timeline, including my own photos. It's as if NOTHING happened there. I called you out as a thief, with the hard evidence to back that, yet somehow I was the bully. But not before 4,000+ people saw what you did. 
   There's not much I can do to stop the root problem. Those foreign sites don't comply with legal requests and takedown notices. You've changed your screen name, as if that will protect you or somehow hide you from view. Lawyers to chase infringers and shut down sites don't work within the salary limits I have, and further dealings with you will only depress me.
   Besides there is a different morally decrepit soul over on Google docs that I'm turning my energies toward today.  She somehow thinks that if she recharts my patterns into the cross stitch program herself, that she can copyright the output. And as I speak, a friend just sent an email pointing out that some bitch on Pinterest is sharing scanned images.  Ah what a respected and rewarding career.

May karma bite you on the ass,
Tracy

40 comments:

  1. Glad you told her. Hope all her stolen charts burn. She probably takes money out of the offering g plate at church too.

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  2. So sad that some people feel entitled to steal the hard work of others. :(

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  3. I don't understand how these people live with them selves.

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  4. I just checked my Pinterest to make sure I didn't accidentally have any scanned charts pinned (and if I did it would only be reference as I liked the design and would hope to find it some day). I'm pretty sure any I have are freebies and I deleted the one that I wasn't sure about as it's in Italian. I don't want to accidentally contribute to the problem.

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  5. Damn! When will these people get it??!! Laura

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  6. Well said.
    May the fleas of a thousand camels infest her (or any theif's) ass, and may her arms be too short to scratch

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  7. I don't understand why anyone would want to do this; they will be held accountable in the end. Hang in there. There are still many of us out there who purchase patterns legally, as they should be.

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  8. I'll never understand people like that.

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  9. Well said! The more of these people that are identified the better. There are people who use Pinterest who are genuinely unaware of the copyright issues and publishing these posts will help them too.

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  10. I wish we could actually face these people. Pitchforks and torches would be appropriate.

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  11. Your designs are not ones that I generally would choose to stitch. I like them, in fact some I love but I know that I couldn't stitch with just one or two colours no matter how pretty the end result is.

    However, that said I admire all designers within the industry and feel so angry that people seem to think that it is ok for them to pirate charts. I personally, would never pirate a chart or illegally purchase one, if I can't afford it, I don't buy it.

    I am so sorry that you are having to deal with this and I wish that there was a way to stop it from happening, not just to you but everyone. It is great though that you have named and shamed. Good luck! xx

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  12. Well written, Tracy, and I hope you will continue to design charts because there are many, many honest people out there who'd miss you and them. Including myself.

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  13. I hope there are enough of us cross stitch lovers out here for you that do choose to pay for the designs we use and have embarrassingly large stashes to prove it. I hope you choose to ignore the hurtful and move forward focusing on the people that love and support your work. It would break my heart to see another designer leave the industry because of these people.

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  14. Well said, Tracy. I am so sorry.

    Off with their heads ~ after they've been drawn and quartered...

    Hugs and love in stitches ~ <3

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  15. I'm livid to hear about these idiots/nincompoops who are doing this to you and many other designers. They obviously don't have a life or a conscience otherwise they would stop before they scanned and posted your designs to be ripped off for free. I won't be one of those who downloads from those decrepit people but buy from you or online stitching stores that bought your product to be purchased. I really hope they shut down that terrible sight soon. They seem to be able to do that with music and videos, so why can't they with cross stitching charts?! Hugs to you

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  16. I'm so sorry to have this happen to you Tracy. I hope she pays big time for this.
    Hugs from Ohio

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  17. Sadly, we know this will not stop as long as people think they can steal and cheat in from the privacy of their own computers. When I was little, I was taught to pay attention to something called "conscience", or in today's words, self-accountability. Where are we going as a group of creatures on this planet if we can destroy others and not have one bit of guilt or shame?

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  18. Join the Facebook group, "Real Stitchers Don't Steal", to boost their membership. They are dedicated to ridding the internet of thieves like this. The more eyes we get out there looking for copyright violations and complaining about it the better, and maybe someday people will realize that they cannot get away with it. This is happening to every designer out there, and it's not just the cross-stitch designers. I joined Pinterest out of curiosity to see how out of hand this has gotten, and have found copyrighted designs from quilting, needlepoint, crochet, tatting, and beadwork posted for free! Deborah Dick, I agree wholeheartedly with your comment and believe that it goes deeper than that. Parents have to set an example for their children - we live across the street from an elementary school, and every school day we see parents and teachers driving down the lane that is clearly marked "Buses Only".

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  19. Fantastic Tracy and hope karma comes to all who steal from you and all designers !!!!

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  20. Where is she ? My dog needs a new chew toy

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  21. May we know the Amanda that you are referring too? I would like to check my friends list incase she is on it and remove her?

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  22. Tracy, I am going to send this Open Letter to my sister, as they think it is ok to share charts. They wanted one of mine, and when I said No, they thought I was terrible and being selfish! I have always purchased any charts I want to stitch. In fact, I have purchased many of your awesome designs, including your new Big Red Ship of Life. I am just ready to start it. I think it is one of your best, as I love designs based on history. Keep up the good fight against Piracy!

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  23. Way to go Tracy. Well said. I have also lost thousands of $$$ in sales to these pirates. Most designers have. I am grateful to all needleworkers with integrity.

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  24. Thank you, Tracy. These theives need to be punished.

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  25. well said, Tracy. I truly wonder what is wrong with people these days..... do they really think we are all so stupid that we don't see what they are doing? Most of us were taught better by our parents. I wonder what her/their parents would think of their kids stealing.

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  26. Besides the financial aspect, it's demoralizing to find yourself labeled the bad guy by FB! Ridiculous.

    Thanks for speaking out.

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  27. Tracy, I hope you explained things to Facebook and they will listen to designers being ripped off! I wish there was more that could be done! I support designers by purchasing their patterns! ((big hug))

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  28. When I read this my reaction was You Go Girl!. I agree with what so many of the others have commented here. I know it's not very nice to say, but I hope karma comes and bites her in the butt big time!

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  29. Well said Tracy. Let that bi**h have it with both barrels.

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  30. It's almost July 1, and I've just found this blog! (I'm slow on the uptake) and seen this letter. I have absolutely no patience for copyright infringement and piracy, because it takes money from the hands of people who've earned it and also because it's illegal! Not to mention unethical. In my own way, I'm going after some supplier in China (Happy Forever and Benway) who are, among other things, stealing patterns and renaming them before selling them as their own. Everyone, from large names to small, is the target of these two companies. They sell their goods on Amazon! And Amazon seems to be unaware - or uncaring. So I put comments with a 1 star and indicate the real source of the design. It's not much, but it's at least something. Just wanted you to know that there are stitchers out here who do what they can to call out copyright infringement when they see it.

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  31. Well said Tracy !! I know it must be very frustrating for you as a designer to have your art, your child stolen from you so blatantly. Hang in there though, there are a lot of us that enjoy your designs and buy them legally so you may feed your family and pay your bills. (((Hugs)))

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