After a recent silver charm brouhaha on Etsy, I realized that there is still some confusion about copyrights and what is or isn’t allowed. We design most of our products from scratch. They begin as sketches in our studio and eventually become beautiful little silver charms, pendants or findings. Our goal is to inspire you. We love it when you buy our parts and incorporate them into your jewelry. Every designer has their own style and I never cease to be amazed at the myriad ways even a simple silver link can be used to create new looks.
Using Nina Designs’ parts in your jewelry is NOT a copyright violation, nor is re-selling the parts you’ve purchased from us. However, if someone takes our silver charms to Asia, has copies made and sells them on Etsy or anywhere else, that IS a copyright violation.
If we see anyone selling copies, we take action to defend our copyrights. This protects us and it protects you, because the copies are usually cheap and shoddy. In the recent situation on Etsy, we responded to complaints from our legitimate customers when a supplier offered Nina Designs knockoffs for sale.
I hope this clears up any confusion. Any questions?
Have you had negative experiences with people copying your designs?
Lotus pendant we designed from scratch.
One of many ways to use the lotus pendant in a jewelry design.
I found your website by chance and know several companies offering similar designs lower then your wholesale price here in Europe. I have been buying from them for years. Afraid your designs are not all copyrightible.
Comment by Nina — May 24, 2010 @ 11:25 am
You are correct. Not every single design in our catalog is eligible for copyrighting. Some of them are too generic. However, the most specific and unique designs are the ones that get copied the most and those we can copyright. Also, there is a difference between selling a “similar” item versus an exact replica.
Comment by nina — May 24, 2010 @ 12:30 pm