Sunday, September 4, 2011

Please say NO to Image Swapping


This is a special and unfortunately a very necessary message to all of our fans and customers.

Please HELP US protect our designs by saying NO to image swapping.

We know that some of you are not even aware of our Angel Policy. We are not blaming you for that. Who reads the fine print anyway?

We were recently made aware that more and more people are swapping our images. We would like to take a minute to point out that we DO NOT ALLOW our images to be swapped, neither the stamped images of our rubber stamps nor the printed digis. Here is the link to the Terms of Service page on our website, please scroll down to Angel Policy.

Please understand that we are not against you letting your close friends "play" with our images when you have a get together at home or at a crop. We are only happy that they get introduced to our images and we hope that after they would purchase some of our stamps as well. We however, are not happy at all about LARGE swaps happening all over the Internet with hundreds of people participating.

We work very hard to bring you the high quality images that you all fell in love with. It makes us sad to see our work being unappreciated by being swapped. Please try putting yourselves in our shoes. How would you feel if something that you put your heart and soul into creating was being shared without your knowledge and approval? Something like swapping the images might seem innocent, but in fact it hurts business. This is how we make our living and this is how we can keep on bringing you the new images.

When you purchase our images, you are automatically agreeing to our Terms of Service, whether you read them or not. That's the law after all. Please understand that when you purchase our stamps, you only purchase a PERSONAL license to use them. We still and will always hold the copyright to our images.

We would also like to point out that we are not alone and that our Angel Policy about No Swapping Allowed is in fact very common within the stamping companies. In fact, most stamping companies do not allow swaps. You can find more information HERE on why swapping is wrong as well as the links to a lot of different companies that do not allow it. Please be aware that even though the list of the companies is pretty long, it is not complete. When in doubt,  always check with the company about their policies.

We are only asking you to help us protect our designs. If you come across the image swaps on forums, blogs, Splitcoaststampers, Youtube, etc. - please don't participate and instead let them know that they are infringing on our copyright. If you would rather have us talk to them, you can always email us with their information to info@lalalandcrafts.com.

Again, we would like to emphasize that we love our fans. You are the best!! We are sad that we had to bring this to your attention, but we feel that with your help and support we can put a stop to it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading to the very end of this important message!!

Hugs!!
:) Irina

13 comments:

  1. Irina very well said and completely understandable.

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  2. So sorry to hear this is happening.

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  3. Hi, Irina--
    I'm very sorry to hear that this has happened. I like the way you stated your position very much. Take care,
    MJ

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  4. Really so sorry about hearing that, sad if people does that, the angel policy basically applies to all companies and i have not come accross ANY that allow swopping!!!
    lotsa luv

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  5. Thank you for working on the cause to stand up for the little stamp companies! You've worded this well and I hope that it spreads respect and compliance. The artists and their images are precious, or people wouldn't love them so much!

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  6. Hopefully, more than anything, people just aren't aware of what they are doing and posts like this can help spread the word. Don't feel bad about Irina :) you are just helping people to understand.

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  7. Very eloquent! I am HAPPY to pay for my images - they are worth every penny! :)
    {hugs}
    Regan

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  8. Hi Irina,

    I came here from the StampOut Facebook page.
    I really hope a lot of people will understand the importance of this. Good luck!

    Hugs,
    Laura

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  9. I love my images AND I pay for every one I have unless its a freebie, which I am always grateful for.
    It is very unfair to designers to copy thier images and sell them, or 'swop' them. I completetly understand your position on this.
    Good luck with stopping this trend.
    Love from South Africa.

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  10. I am too sorry this is happen to you guys.....and I totally agree to every word you've written here....there is always one bad apple in the bunch!!

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  11. I buy all my images and am so sorry that this has happened to you. I hope this will stop.

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  12. Totally support you on this issue and your statement is very well put. I have personally purchased many of your images and it annoys me a great deal that people will attempt to circumvent the rules in this manner. It is incumbent on the rest of us to watch for and report any misuse of images that we come across.

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  13. I totally agree with you Irina. Best wishes,

    Carmen L

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