Clearing Up Some Confusion
I’ve been thinking about this post for a long time, wondering if I should really go ahead and write it, and it seems like a good idea that I do it.
Running a business like mine is interesting. On one hand, I do not need a warehouse or inventory, which greatly simplifies my business; on the other hand, the items I sell could be passed around and used by multiple people without me knowing.
Every time one of you places an order, there’s trust on both sides. On your side, you are trusting that buying from me is safe and that the items I sell are worth the money. Unlike something you buy in a store, you can’t pick it up or look at it first.
On my side, I am trusting that you are going to use the PDFs or CD-ROM only for yourself, and not share or re-sell it. That’s a bit of a leap of faith on my part.
In the past few months I have found out about several copyright violations: one person was trying to sell one of my CD-ROMs on Craigslist, another on eBay, and a third person had uploaded some of my files to a file-sharing service where anyone could download them.
In the cases of the eBay and Craigslist auctions, I was able to get the auctions taken down because they were in violation of my copyright. I was also able to have the files removed from the file-sharing service for the same reason. However it is time-consuming for me to have to take this kind of action and I cringe every time I find out about something like this.
I realize that most of the time when someone tries to share or sell my PDFs, it is because they truly don’t know that it’s wrong to do so. Perhaps they have not read my Terms of Use or they don’t understand how copyright works. That’s one of the reasons I’m writing this post – simply to educate everyone so that we all understand the rules.
My PDFs are protected under intellectual copyright. This is different from the kind of copyright you might have over the design of a lamp or a sweater. Those items can only be used by one person at a time. You can sell them if you decide you don’t want to use them anymore. In the case of intellectual copyright, where something could be copied over and over again and used by many people at once, only the copyright holder is allowed to sell the items.
My entire site is copyrighted, which means that blog posts, articles, pictures, and any other material on the site also cannot be used without permission. Sometimes it’s easy to think that anything on the internet is sort of “fair game” to use as desired but that is not true.
I’d like to boil this down to two easy rules:
1. My PDFs and CD-ROMs cannot be re-sold or shared with others. They are for personal use only.
2. My entire site – including the free PDFs – is copyrighted by me and nothing can be used without permission.
This even includes my free PDFs. They cannot be uploaded to your site or blog or file-sharing service. Just link to my Free Downloads page(s) if you want to mention or promote them. If you would like to use one of my articles or blog posts at your site or in a school newsletter, you need to ask first. (Short quotations are fine without permission as long as you attribute it to Montessori for Everyone).
If you see anyone using my PDFs or any of my site content without permission, please let me know. That way instead of one set of eyes keeping tabs on the internet, there will be thousands. Several of you have let me know of copyright violations you’ve found in the past and I greatly appreciate it.
As you can imagine I’ve poured thousands of hours into my site and my materials. I have been as generous as possible, sharing free materials, keeping my prices super low, and trying to make my blog and site the best Montessori resource on the internet. With your help I can continue to do so.
Well said, and I think it is very important to educate people about the intellectual copyright laws. Sorry you have had such headaches with violations.
Marsha
I appreciate that, Marsha! In the end I figured it was easier to address it before it happens again rather than reacting on a case-by-case basis.
Thanks for stopping by!
It’s great to see you posting this message! Thankfully, I have not accidently violated any of your copyrights
I am glad that you posted the comparisons of the differing copyrights, as this is a big issue for me as someone who comes from the field of professional design & photography.
Kudos again for taking ownership of your hard work, and making sure that people spread the word of your material in a proper & respectful way.
Nicely said! It’s this very thing I try to educate my students about.
Touche’ Lori! Not only well said but a needful reminder to all of us who are either being educated on the web or attempting to educate others. Hard work and ownership coupled with great materials makes for a wonderful combination for use by others. Just sad when it is not used properly.
Thanks for the support, everyone. It’s hard to know, when you write a post like this, what the response will be. I appreciate your comments so much!
Very classy post!
I agree you do need to educate and remind, remind, remind. Often people just don’t think!!
Thanks for all the great work too.
I have recently purchased other downloadable pdf’s and Montessori For Everyone is definitely my pick, well done!
I haven’t violated these terms, and I totally understand your concerns. However, I was thinking about this issue. I have purchased several things from your site, and I have laminated most of them. At some point, in the next few years probably, I will no longer be homeschooling and teaching preschool. It seems such a shame to just throw all the materials away just because I am no longer in need of them. Do you have any suggestions for someone in my future situation?
Andie
That’s a great question, Andie! The selling of printed materials is also restricted by copyright (since someone could make multiple copies and sell them all).
I would suggest donating them to a local school (for a tax write off if you get a thank-you letter from them) or giving them to another homeschooling family. That way they still get plenty of use
Andie posed a very great question. Thanks for sharing and explaining copyrights so well. I took this post as a call to pray for you, friend, that God will protect your business in this area of copyrights. Sorry to hear you’ve had to deal with the hassle of protecting your materials from unlawful use or selling. I know you’ve worked so hard for so long on MFE! On the up side, isn’t it nice to know that your stuff is soooo fabulous that people want to copy it?
Andrea
Hi Lori,
Just an idea for your homeschoolers – we are a brand new charity ‘Montessori Education for Autism’ and we could make such good use of any left-over Montessori materials or laminated pdfs as we seek to provide materials and advice around the world. http://www.montessorieducationforautism.
Thanks for your response to the copyright issues. It seems many people take advantage of material on the Internet. They either think that if it’s available it’s free, or that if it’s for educational purposes it’s fair game. I’ve left at least one online group because they seemingly took advantage of the graciousness of others. Thanks for offering high-quality material, educating the community about intellectual property and keeping the violations in perspective.
You are in the same position as anyone selling intellectual assets, especially musicians. Ability and freedom to copy doesn’t make it right!
I like what Kylie said, “…educate and remind, remind, remind.”
I wonder if there is a creative way to create a card that goes with your materials and is also sent as a follow-up for each PDF. Each buyer signs and acknowledges they are the sole owner/user of each module, etc. They send back the card, which gives them inside membership to a monthly newsletter or some other exclusive material/tidbit only available to “Montessori Partners.” Signing an agreement does something mentally, and they are rewarded for their ethics.
Nice position and wake-up call to many with this post, Lori!