First off, I have never participated in the event on Ravelry that is labeled Ravelympics. I have never really had any interest in watching the Olympic games either! I am just not a sports fan & only watch a sporting event if my kids or grandkids are involved or if I have no other choice - as in visiting somewhere & the sporting even is on TV & the person I am visiting leaves it on.
But I just found a link a short time ago on my Facebook feed that drew my attention. Ravelry has received a letter advising them that their event named Ravelympics is a copyright infringement & that they need to cease & desist. Evidently this event was started to coincide with the Olympic games & involves a crafter - generally a knitter or crocheter, I suppose, who creates 1 or more craft items while watching the Olympic Games. Evidently there have been different categories like Afghan Marathon & Scarf Hockey, which seem to me to connect it to the Olympics for interest alone.
I'm not sure what I think about the letter they got. I can kind of see it, but it still seems to be stretching things to claim that by doing this Ravelry is demeaning athletes that have been training for many, many years in their sports. I mean, to me, I think from what little I know of the Olympics, that things like table tennis & curling are already doing that to skiers, bobsledders, swimmers, etc. And instead of ticking off all these crafters which might only be looking for something to do to occupy themselves while a spouse is watching so that they don't feel like a widow or widower of yet another sport, why can't they see that they could be costing themselves a lot of sponsorships by these crafters maybe boycotting their sponsors entirely? And have they also warned groups like the Special Olympics or do they have special permission to use the word Olympics? Since I believe the word Olympics comes from Mt. Olympia, can it truly be copyrighted like that? I don't know since I am not a lawyer, but it sure seems to me to be big brother flexing his muscles over a little bitty thing that is no real threat. Read the article & tell me what you think of it.
Have fun & Happy Crafting until the next time!
But I just found a link a short time ago on my Facebook feed that drew my attention. Ravelry has received a letter advising them that their event named Ravelympics is a copyright infringement & that they need to cease & desist. Evidently this event was started to coincide with the Olympic games & involves a crafter - generally a knitter or crocheter, I suppose, who creates 1 or more craft items while watching the Olympic Games. Evidently there have been different categories like Afghan Marathon & Scarf Hockey, which seem to me to connect it to the Olympics for interest alone.
I'm not sure what I think about the letter they got. I can kind of see it, but it still seems to be stretching things to claim that by doing this Ravelry is demeaning athletes that have been training for many, many years in their sports. I mean, to me, I think from what little I know of the Olympics, that things like table tennis & curling are already doing that to skiers, bobsledders, swimmers, etc. And instead of ticking off all these crafters which might only be looking for something to do to occupy themselves while a spouse is watching so that they don't feel like a widow or widower of yet another sport, why can't they see that they could be costing themselves a lot of sponsorships by these crafters maybe boycotting their sponsors entirely? And have they also warned groups like the Special Olympics or do they have special permission to use the word Olympics? Since I believe the word Olympics comes from Mt. Olympia, can it truly be copyrighted like that? I don't know since I am not a lawyer, but it sure seems to me to be big brother flexing his muscles over a little bitty thing that is no real threat. Read the article & tell me what you think of it.
Have fun & Happy Crafting until the next time!
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