Jewelry design and Copyright
I read an article in JCK which got me thinking...as I felt inspired to comment there I wanted to share my response with you all here as well.The article discussed how new technology is making it easier and easier to copy a design and reproduce it....here are a few of my thoughts on the challenge this presents us designers...;-) Of course, I agree that there is no replacing a good finish and technique but too often I am afraid the value of the earliest moments of conception can be dramatically overlooked. The price tag wins out with the majority of people and they don't even think of a knock off as "copyright" infringement ... This was proven to me recently at our custom jewelry shop ...I was speaking with a writer who had visited and I noticed the ring she was wearing as the design was recognizable. I asked if she got it from the jeweler I knew it from. She said she took their ad to a jeweler in Ny and had the design copied... Later in her visit, I was giving her demons