A hot topic in one of my yahoo groups was that of copyright issues. Sadly, some homeschool moms are either not very aware of copyright laws or they choose to ignore them.

JoJo from Communications Fundamentals and  Tammy Cardwell (previous blog entry) have written very eloquently about this issue but I just need to add my own two cents being a self-publisher myself.

Would you allow your daughter to shoplift a pencil from the dollar store or supermarket? After all, it's just a cheap pencil, and the store, which is part of a chain, will not miss that solitary pencil.

Would it be all right if your son were to swipe a quarter from his uncle while visiting? The uncle has a whole jar of quarters. He won't miss one. Besides, he's rich, isn't he? What is a quarter to him?

I think all homeschool moms will say “Of course not!” to the two scenarios above. Some may be miffed that such fundamental questions are even raised at all!

Stealing is stealing. It's taking what doesn't belong to you in the first place.

Yet, when it comes to published works, whether by a well-known author or a homeschool mom, some moms don't think twice about the copyright law. They make copies of the book or consumable worksheets for friends (out of the goodness of their hearts, perhaps) or they make a copy of the book for themselves, and then sell the original copy!  Some thoughtlessly share downloads liberally. It may seem a stretch to them  to consider such actions as “stealing”.

But they are stealing from the authors when they do that.

For each photocopy they make from the original book, they are depriving the author of the rightful revenue or royalty he or she deserves, and has worked very hard for! A self-publishing friend related to me how someone bought one of her ebooks and then went ahead and printed 25 copies of it for her friends attending a shower! My friend lost 25 potential customers in one swoop.

Writing is hard work. And for those who self-publish, a lot of sacrifices are involved. Many moms love curriculum written by other moms because they seem to “understand” the needs of homeschool families better. But homeschooling moms who publish don't just publish for fun. Many also do so to enable them to stay home with their children. They do so to encourage their husbands.

The next time a fellow mom shares something with you that you know is not right, do the right thing and refuse it. You can do so graciously. Then explain to her why you cannot accept that “gift”.

Like what we tell our children, the time is always right to do the right thing.

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Posted by kim199173

Hmmmm. I have a question for you.

I take my children's books (history & science) and make powerpoints presentations out of them. I also add more info from the internet. I have found that they learn faster and retain more this way. I put so much work into these presentations that I hate deleting them off of my computer when we are finished with them.

Sooo, I often try to give these PPT away to others that can use them. I always tell them that I used a specific book to get the information and I never sell them. Do you think this falls under stealing?

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Posted by MiikoGibson

Hi Kimberley,

Thank you for asking! This is the general principle: sharing lesson plans and PP presentations is fine, but the plans and presentations must not contain so much content from the published book that other users can benefit from them without purchasing the published book. So whether or not your PPP comes under copyright violations depends on the content of your PPP.

On the other hand, if the author gives you explicit permission to share the PPP or lesson plans with CONTENT that can be found in the book, then that's another matter.

Hope this helps!

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