Embroiderer's Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know who is and who isn't safe to purchase designs from?

This is naturally a valid concern, but quite frankly no one can offer any guarantee in this area.

I've seen some sites imply that there is some sort of verification that their vendors are legitimate, why doesn't DigiFavs do the same?

Because it would be dishonest to do so.  Logically there is just no way any site, mall or agent can guarantee anyone elses behaviour, product
or conduct.  To imply any sort of guarantee is nothing but a common advertising 'hook' and is behaviour I won't engage in.  But with this in mind I pose this thought provoking question:  Why would any site attempt to make such a claim? To me if one can't come through with what they're offering, it shouldn't be offered at all.

What does DigiFavs do to make sure that only legitimate vendors are represented?

I verify all vendors who apply at DigiFavs, most are already well-known, established vendors, but for those who aren't, I am fairly familiar with most vendors work.  There are many circumstances besides the designs that help to indentify a possible infringer, suffice to say I have spent countless hours researching vendors.

I also stay involved with each vendor as time allows, so when I represent someone, we aren't dealing with eachother as just strangers.  Some vendors aren't as receptive, for those I just do my job and respect their space, but that doesn't mean I work less hard, as I still do everything within my power to make sure they are a legitimate vendor.

In fact, I'm involved from the very beginning by verifying the identity of the vendor; I then verify that what they're selling is embroidery related and that they have an embroidery product you can purchase.  Beyond all that,  I (as DigiFavs) remain involved with each vendor to insure they and their site are still active, I upload all new product information for the vendors when they advise me of such,  this affords me the added luxury of being personally involved with the vendors, the byproduct of this fact is that the vendor and myself here at DigiFavs can serve you, the customer, as efficiently as possible.

I do have to add though, that our market is rife with gossip, so I should add too, that by the same token, DigiFavs does not operate based off of hearsay or gossip such as found on many groups and forums.  We may be small, but there is a professional way of handling things and a non-professional way of handling things, and when companies and vendors, large or small,  act non-professionally by either partaking in, or perpetuating heresay, they hurt everyone, but mostly themselves. I myself will no longer frequent vendors who spread gossip and hearsay towards another vendor, after all, why should we as customers, support a such unscrupulous behavior?  Anyone can say anything about another
person or company at any time, but that act does not make what they're saying true does it?

So what can you, the embroidery customer do to insure you don't purchase designs that are illegal? Education . . . I simply cannot stress this enough.  So how do you educate yourself? The best education regarding this matter is basic common sense when it comes to your purchases and second, knowledge that comes with time.  I wish I could honestly say you could even ask some of the folks who have been involved in embroidery for awhile, but even that is laden with misinformation, hearsay and gossip, since oftentimes they're simply too busy to take the time to differentiate between whose who & what's what and sadly, some don't care, and there are even a few . . . for whatever reason, who actively perpetuate trouble.

Other guidelines that will help you in the decision making process:

1) If the designs you're seeking are related to a popular character, they're almost certainly copyrighted by one of the larger commercial companies, here are some links to companies that often carry embroidery cards and designs which  you can purchase with popular copyrighted characters (note: be sure the card you purchase can be used with your machine make and model):

"Brother" ~ Offers many popular Disney characters - note: they offer many products, so please navigate from their home page accordingly): http://www.brother.com/

"Dakota Collectibles" ~ Offers many popular cartoon series: http://www.dakotacollectibles.com

Please note though, that many of the designs of popular copyrighted characters cannot be stitched on items for sale . . . which brings me to another point in your ongoing education regarding machine embroidery.

When you purchase designs, whether it be from a major company or an independent vendor, before you purchase even one design card or even an individual design, think about what you may want to do with that design, and think into the future as well . . . for instance, who knows how long you will enjoy this hobby, likely years, but by that time, you will likely have purchased hundreds, but more likely thousands of embroidery designs, that's a lot to keep track of; now for the cards, this isn't as difficult since you can look at them and see their copyright and permissions information right there, but for designs you've downloaded . . . you will either need to save each vendors copyright information or sort them in another fashion that will help you to follow the guidelines set forth by various vendors.  Each vendor has a different set of guidelines regarding what can and cannot be done with their embroidery designs, so before you buy, I advise visiting their copyright area, and if they don't have one, write them and ask them before purchase.  Note there are laws that protect the buyer from overzealous vendors, but copyright and intellectual property laws are so very complicated, it's best to just spare yourself the agony and do what the vendor wishes per their usage rights (and think about it, if the vendor is that difficult and at best misinformed, do you really even want to deal with them? That's a question only you can answer).

For instance . . . what if you decide that someday, you want to embroider said designs on an item you wish to sell? What good is the design if the vendor doesn't allow that? Yes . . . that's right! Not all vendors allow their designs to be embroidered on items for sale (even for a non-profit) you might even find some vendors who allow their designs to be stitched on items for sale, but they demand you make a label for the item, that lists them as the designer and their contact information, now whether the law provides for such stringent requirements is one thing, but let's assume for the sake of argument it does (as I say, spare yourselves the agony of trying to sort it all out)  but moving along, how is that additional stitched on label going to look on your finished item? If you don't want it there, or if having that extra label is going to detract from the finished product, possibly inhibiting the products final sale, you might want to consider this fact before purchasing.  My point is, that each vendor has a set of copyright guidelines that they set forth and as such it's best to just follow those guidelines (either way) else you run the risk of legal issues if the law supports them in whatever their restrictions are.

If all of the above makes your head swim, you're not alone, but you can act accordingly by simplifying  your purchasing process.  For myself, I no longer purchase designs from any vendor unless I can at least place the purchased design or designs on items for gifts and/or for sale . . . not because I have anything against the more stringent vendors, but rather the more simplified the purchase and guidelines the better.  I have less to worry about with that approach and tend to dislike a lot of complications when they can be avoided.

How do customers take possession of designs?:

1) Design card (often embroidery machine make/model specific)
2) CD (original from major manufacturer; and in the case of independent digitizers, usually made from their PC)
3) Email delivery (can be from major vendors and quite often from smaller independents)
4) Automatic download (can be from major vendors and quite often from smaller independents after completion of purchase)

So, just because a CD comes made on a PC from a smaller vendor, or if they offer email delivery, does not mean the designs aren't legitimate (likely they are perfectly legitimate) it depends on several factors, are the designs in question designs the seller created themselves? If the answer is yes, then that's okay . . . on the other hand, if it's a copy of designs they've purchased or collected from elsewhere, this is not okay and you should bypass such a sale whether the designs in question were purchased or even if they were originally intended as samples and freebies.

I will mention again, just as a gentle reminder . . . if your designs are of a copyrighted character, do not embroider them on items for sale, to give away for any reason, unless you have verified the company providing your card or CD allows such.  It's always best to work with caution in such matters.

Here's another question, if you get tired of a card or CD, or set of designs, what do you do with them? And as the purchaser, can you do anything you wish with them? This question is a really hot topic & the subject of many heated discussions (we are simply trying to point out that most reading this are NOT lawyers & until there is more law set down officially regarding digital works, digitizers AND consumers would be wise not too assume too little or too much) we are simply saying that by addressing ALL possibilities, we can all avoid troublesome situations.   Keep in mind that opinions are NOT law. Though one's opinions may reflect law or a semblance thereof. 

What I'm about to add here isn't necessarily even my own opinion, rather it's something people might wish to consider when THEY consider what they wish to purchase; or in the case of the artist or digitizer, what they wish to include in their Terms of Use.  Because law is evolving in this area, it is not intended to be all inclusive, it simply encourages all to tread carefully (in laymen's terms) and to stay informed (it does not in ANY way condone trading, copying, giving away, willing to, sharing or the re-sale of digital goods in any way whatsoever <~see here even I am erring on the side of caution lol).

Readers may wish to research the "Digital First Sale Doctrine" and also to familiarize oneself with what "Copyright Misuse" means (the latter is geared to protect consumers against abusive copyright holders).  You will need to educate yourself regarding these very complicated matters and interpret it as best as you can.  When in doubt, consult your legal representative.  Avoid relaying on advice from the well intentioned who claim to know law with a grain of salt (unless they're lawyers who are practicing actual current law).

What about EBaY sales?  These days when embroiderers hear the combined words, Ebay and embroidery, people freak out.  Why? Because of a sad state of affairs where legitimate vendors are suffering for the actions of those partaking in piracy.  Every electronic media source seems to suffer from piracy.  This has thrown the embroidery market into a state of unrest and has served to spoil a perfectly good selling venue.  As digitizers and customers, we have two choices, and those are to either allow this state of affairs to continue and stop dealing with EBaY altogether when it comes to our embroidery or to educate ourselves and others against piracy, so we can tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys, thereby allowing ourselves to continue to buy and sell embroidery designs through EBaY without worry and fear.

If you see copyrighted characters for a very small amount on EBaY (i.e. "pennies on the dollar") and they are sent via any other medium other than the original disk or card, you can bet your bottom dollar that the seller is infringing on copyright and I urge you to run, not walk to the nearest exit.

Likewise, if you see 100's or 1000's of designs for pennies on the dollar, likely this is a conglomeration of designs from various sources and should be avoided in my opinion unless the vendor can guarantee all the work on the CD or other method of delivery, is indeed their own; this is where common sense kicks in for the experienced embroiderer . . . because if it's too good to be true, it probably is.  New customers in the embroidery market often truly don't know the difference, they're still learning, thus such bares mentioning here.

This is not to say that if a design or design set is very reasonably priced that the source isn't ethical.  Many vendors sell their designs for far less than they're worth, other vendors may not like it, but it is each vendors right to sell their work  for what they wish to sell it for.  Remember . . . independent vendors price their own work, some will sell at very high prices, some on middle ground and then there is the group of vendors who would rather sell a lot of their work for very little as compared to one big sale once in awhile, so bear this in mind while shopping for your designs.

Having said all of that, be assured, if DigiFavs is informed of possible infringment, DigiFavs will investigate and act accordingly, within the parameters allowed us by law, but this means substantiating your claim, think about how you intend to assist in accomplishing that.

Heresay and gossip may work on groups and forums, but it doesn't work at DigiFavs, nor should it at ANY company as to do so is unethical.  In short, you are bound by law as well, if you accuse another, make sure the party being accused is actually guilty, and be prepared to substantiate your claim or don't make such a claim privately or publicly at all . . . and don't expect any responsible business to operate on your words in email, or worse, "what someone else told you" in email. Such is rediculous by it's very nature.  Also, don't complain on behalf of another "mystery party", to business professionals, since to us, such is just more hearsay; only the alleged injured party should be filing a complaint and if they won't, remove yourself from the situation before it backfires on you, think about it, who points the finger and then makes others do their dirty work?  Because they're too nice, too scared or they "need your help"? Not likely, legally you can't even press their claim, so don't! I reiterate: "Only the alleged injured party should be filing a complaint".

Customers and vendors alike have a responsibility to act responsibly, not only in their purchases but how they conduct themselves, this may mean cultivating a more discerning spirit.

DigiFavs is dedicated to the independent vendor, and by default to their customers, that means you. So don't limit yourselves . . . if you want a large variety of quality designs at affordable prices, support independents, they work hard for themselves and you!

For further reference, please read the:

 DigiFavs Legal Disclaimer at the bottom of the home page.

I need to contact a specific vendor, can I go through you?

It is necessary for you to visit the vendors site and use their contact form or other method they provide to facilitate contact with them; however . . . should you run into difficulty, I will intercede when able, you may contact me at  webmaster@digifavs.com

I need to make you aware of possible infringement, how do I do that?

Think carefully before reporting someone, this can ruin a persons reputation needlessly.  Please be aware that digitizers often use similar artwork to create their stitched versions of such . . . some vendors have teams of digitizers (adding another facet, who is guilty? the digitizer or the vendor? And what if the vendor terminates the offending digitizer, haven't they done the right thing already? What any other business owner would do?) see how complicated it can get? Are you very certain ALL your details are accurate and do you really know the law as well as you think you do?  Regardless, should you still wish to make a report, make sure first the problem exists "in the now", what that means is, something I can witness for myself on a vendors site the minute you write (note I do not have any site priviledges on ANY vendors site, this means I cannot change their site to "cover their tracks" and even if I could . . . I wouldn't) THEN and only then, email me the name of the vendor, the site URL where you found the suspect design(s) AND the information that leads you to believe it's someone elses work (i.e. who you believe copyright genuinely belongs to AND their URL as well). If you are not the copyright holder, plan to put me in touch with them, if you or they cannot or will not cooperate enough to follow through with that, or worse you or they are supplying old information that has already been rectified, it is suggested you reconsider your report. Ultimately it is only the injured party who has the right to file a complaint.

Remember, no one can guarantee what anyone will or will not do, thus DigiFavs, nor it's representatives are responsible for any other vendors content. We do the best we can, but ultimately it is the vendor who is responsible for the artwork or designs they are selling . . . DigiFavs houses no work such as this, so while you're considering whom to contact, consider if it's best that you contact the vendor instead of us.

That said, if you can meet this criteria you may email this information to:

 webmaster@digifavs.com