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May I copy a tutorial and place it in the files of our mail list group for members of our graphics groups to use?

No. This could be classified as copyright infringement. Please link to the tutorials. Besides, by not using a current copy of a tut, you may miss corrections or updates.

I find it easier to work from a printed-out copy of a tutorial. Is it copyright infringement if I save and print a tutorial?

In my opinion, no. I have no objection if you download and print out copies of my tutorials as long as it's for your own personal use.

We have a non-English speaking PSP group. May I translate your tutorials into our language?

No. Please don't. Copying a tutorial to place on another website (without permission) is copyright infringement. For your convenience, all tutorial pages include a link to a variety of websites where free translation is available for many languages. If none of the languages provided by these sites will work for your group, please email me to discuss another arrangement.

When I make an image by following a tutorial, who owns the image? Does it become my own original for me to do whatever I want with it?

Yes and No! It is not your original if it is an exact copy. It is a reproduction of a copyrighted image (used with permission, of course). A copy, or reproduction, may not be an original, but you do own the image you created. I am not a copyright attorney and you should consult one if you have a serious copyright issue, but I'll do my best to explain my own interpretations. It is my humble opinion that the graphic is yours, you made it, you own it! However, there are considerations! Many graphic tutorials demonstrate a technique by providing an image to copy along with some step-by-step instructions, therefore, in most cases, the resulting image is a COPY of someone else's idea. It's yours to do with as you please EXCEPT calling it your own original design. If you customize and change the image to make it different enough to call your own...then you have an original!

But what about tutorials that demonstrate things such as making plaids? You can't copyright a plaid design!

That could be true...but I am specifically referring to original drawings that are used as a teaching tool...drawings that are copyrighted by the artist/author. For tutorial purposes, the author has granted permission to reproduce the image (usually for personal use only). There are also many tutorials that teach technique only and no exact image is involved...such as how to make a texture or pattern. For those tutorials that teach you how to make textures and simple shapes or how to use filters, the copyright issue probably doesn't apply to the image....but it would apply to the TEXT of the tutorial! Always assume that any graphic, text, html code, or other artistic expression you may see is copyrighted and ask the author's permission before using.

But I've seen logos made from simple shapes and they're copyrighted aren't they? How do they do that?

Many people are confused about the difference between copyrights and trademarks. Any shape, even a very simple one, could have a registered trademark! Mickey Mouse's ears are a registered trademark...duplicating those simple circle shapes commercially is not a copyright issue...it is a trademark violation! The Nike swoosh is another trademark that is a simple shape. Many things that don't fall under copyright protection CAN be trademarked! Another big difference between the two is that copyrights become effective as soon as something is published, while you must register and pay a filing fee for a trademark!

I'm still confused about copyrights...I drew it, so I can do what I please with it, can't I?

There's been a lot of discussion and confusion about this issue of how and when tutorial images can be honorably used...copyright issues are not a list of clearly written rules...there's a lot of gray area...that's why there's so many copyright and trademark attorneys...LOL!!

To help define what is original and what isn't, it may be helpful to think of following a tutorial as being the same as taking an art class in college. The instructor wants you to paint a reproduction of the Mona Lisa as a class exercise. You do...and it turns out good...it's an EXACT copy! So you hang it on the wall. That's fine, it's your painting to do whatever you want with it. Frame it, display it or just store it away for some future use. What if you decide it's so good that you should enter into an art competition? Of course, when you submit your entry everybody will recognize the Mona Lisa and your entry, in most art shows, will automatically get placed in the "reproduction" category. Or maybe you decide you should sell the painting. Be careful! You run the risk of being arrested if you try selling your 'exact copy' of the Mona Lisa as an 'original' painting. That'd probably be called forgery, right? But, if you offer it for sale as a reproduction...and clearly inform the buyer it is a reproduction....you should be within your rights and within the scope of the law. On the other hand...if your Mona Lisa was an abstract version or some other interpretation that is not an exact copy....well, then, you just might have an original!! ;-)

Do you agree that there is a difference between creating an original and creating a reproduction? I feel the same "rules" that apply in the above example for an oil painting should hold true for digital images created by following tutorials found on the web, don't you? On the other hand, even though artwork made by following a pattern or set of instructions may not be original, it does belong to you! You have been given permission by the author to re-create the image for your own personal use and enjoyment.

Reproducing tutorial images for commercial sale is IMHO an entirely different matter. Believe it or not, I have received quite a bit of mail from people who have seen CD's of clip art for sale that contained images made by copying tutorials...exact duplicates of the tutorial author's original artwork (not just my work!). Many tuts have been taken offline for this very reason!! Also, people that had actually purchased what they thought was an original and unique clipart/tube collection said they were quite upset when they found out it was just copies of various tutorials. Some were upset because they felt they had been 'ripped off', some were upset because they could have made the image themselves (for free!) if they had just seen the tutorial first! You can bet that the website selling the "all original" CD just lost all their credibility!