Loralie Designs are copyright © 2006 by Loralie Harris. All Rights Reserved.

LIMITED LICENSE AGREEMENT

By purchasing and using Loralie Designs™ software you are agreeing to the License given with this software.

Loralie Designs™, Inc. grants a nontransferable, single user license to the individual purchasing the product.

Loralie Designs™ by Loralie Harris are intended for personal home use. The purchaser is also permitted to embroider these designs on items to sell, up to 100 embroidered items of each design for profit. More than 100 embroidered items is defined as “commercial production” and is strictly prohibited, unless you obtain a specified commercial license from us.

Additionally, as a nontransferable license a purchaser is reminded that selling, offering, or placing software for sale on any platform is strictly prohibited.

The Purchaser agrees to waive any claims to the Fair Use Exception and the First Sale Doctrine in US Copyright & Trademark Law that may attach to this protected material.

All of Loralie Designs™ artwork and products are protected under US Copyright and Trademark Law. The artwork cannot be reproduced, altered or used without the express written permission of Loralie Designs™. Use of fabric and other Loralie Designs™ products is subject to provisions in the US Copyright & Trademark laws. For more details on our copyright policy, please scroll down. For permission on additional use or any other questions, please contact our copyright specialist.

OTHER COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Copying embroidery software and designs is a copyright violation. This includes duplicating software to sell, to share with friends or to distribute free over the Internet.

When you purchase a CD or other medium, you are buying a license to load the software onto a single computer or embroidery machine. It is important to understand that all you own is the physical disk itself, not the software. You may also make one copy for archival purposes.

Your purchase of embroidery software grants you a license for:
• The right to install it on one computer or sewing machine of your choice
• Modifying size and color of designs for personal preference
• Embroidering these designs on garments and items for personal use only and it grants you a limited license for:
• Embroidering these designs on garments and items to sell, up to 100 embroidered items of each design for profit.

Benefits of purchasing original software:
• All product documentation, customer support and information is included
• Helps keep your computer virus free
• Supports future product development while holding down the cost of goods

Why is copyright information important to you?
• To compensate for losses caused by piracy, manufacturers must ultimately increase prices.
• The risk of system crashes and viruses increases with the use of illegally duplicated and distributed software.
• The value of a product is diminished and new innovations are slowed for fear of illegal duplication.

Legal uses of embroidery designs:
When you purchase embroidery design software, you are authorized to embroider any garment that includes the sewn out design. Although many software design packages enable you to modify the size and color of designs, you are not authorized to distribute the modified designs as computer files to others.
If you have questions regarding copyright information, please e-mail our copyright specialist.

SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED COPYRIGHT QUESTIONS:

Is it okay for my friends and me to copy each other's designs?
No, I'm afraid not. Design companies invest large portions of their earnings in design development and they deserve a fair return on their investment. Stock designs allow you to save time, effort and money. When you share software, you are depriving the company of income. You expect your full paycheck from your job; why shouldn't they?

What do I get for purchasing my own designs?
A lot. The benefits you stand to gain with purchased copies of designs include the continued availability of affordable, high-quality designs. You also get full packaging with color graphics, instructions and color sequences. You get phone support and valuable information provided via the Internet.

What exactly does the law say about copying software?
(Title 17 and 18 of the U.S. code. See also www.Copyright.gov.)

Briefly, the law says, "It is illegal to make or distribute copies of copyrighted material without authorization," including software. Penalties are fines up to $50,000 and jail terms up to five years.

The law is very specific concerning copyright violations. Since copyright laws are federal laws, the copyright owner—the plaintiff—will bring the suit in a federal court in his state of residence. The infringer, or defendant, will have to defend the suit in that court. As you can imagine, the costs to defend a suit of this nature out of state can quickly exceed $50,000.

Under copyright law, title 17 of the U.S. code, criminal action is also available to the copyright owner under title 18 of the U.S. code. The criminal aspect of the law can result in seizure of the equipment and imprisonment. Under statutory copyright laws, on the civil damages aspect, a defendant who is found guilty can be fined between $500 and $20,000 per violation.

The violations can be compounded when you make a copy of a copyrighted design, as you are then liable for any copies made from that illegal copy that you have put in another's hand. There are additional penalties for printouts or sew-outs of illegally duplicated designs. As you can easily see, violating copyright laws make no sense economically; it is far less expensive to purchase a legal copy.

But don't I only have to change it 10% to make it my own?
No. This is a misconception about copyrights as it applies to the graphic arts industry. In fact, by changing the original design and then selling the new version of the original in any manner, the person doing this has moved into additional violations of law, not only copyright law, but general tort laws.But I bought the disk therefore I own it and I should be free to do as I wish with it.

When you buy a disk, all you truly own is the physical diskette itself, not what is on it. The designs are licensed for you to use in a specific way; the copyright holder owns the content. When you share designs, you are typically not loaning the disk to another person, you are giving them a copy of the disk—this is also known as a bootleg manufacturer.

Do the same rules apply to user/embroidery groups—I always figured the reason they got together was to share software.

It is the responsibility of user groups to encourage their members to observe copyright laws, and software companies rely on them to do so. The same copyright responsibilities apply to schools and professional training organizations.

I'll bet most of the people who copy software don't even know they're breaking the law.
Most people don't purposely break the law—they would never consider, for instance, stealing money out of someone's pocket. However, when you share software, you essentially are stealing money out of the developer's pocket. Unfortunately, when it comes to copyright violations, ignorance is no defense. If you're part of an organization, see what you can do to initiate a policy statement that everyone respects. And as an individual, you can spread the word that sharing is stealing.