I should probably put this post on my Reiki Bliss blog but I have less visitors there and could use the extra opinions. You don't mind, right?
When I took the Reiki Master class last March I could have purchased manuals from my instructor to use with students for my own classes. Since I wasn't planning to teach immediately, and wanted to develop my own style anyway, I didn't buy hers. That was perfectly fine as within the Reiki community you will find some variation to the material. I won't go into all the differences here because my questions have to do with the development of the actual manual and not the system of Reiki itself.
Some of the printouts included in my manual I have found online. Some websites say ... 'free download' or 'feel free to share this in it's entirety'. I'm certainly thankful for those!!!
The ones that say nothing or are copyrighted are giving me a bit of grief.
*If I want to use some general information from a certain site, is it necessary to try and write the author for permission or is that only required if you are interested in printing out a whole page?
*I want to include assorted photos in the manual. There are three main people associated with Reiki's origins ... the founder, one of his Master students and one of that man's Master students who eventually brought it to the West. These three have all been gone for many years. The few photos floating around of them are quite old. I haven't been able to find where they came from. Can they be used?
*One website I found to have interesting information about some translated kanji (part of the Japanese writing system) that I want to include is using and crediting someone else with that information. Do I need to ask permission from the website owners about using a couple of their pdf files or do I somehow have to get permission from the actual translator that they referenced and used? Or do I have to try and purchase the old manual where the kanji are shown and get permission from the book publisher?
GAHHHH!!!! Am I confusing you??
I am NOT planning to try and copyright my manual or sell it to students or practitioners as an individual product. Yes, I will be charging a fee for the classes and the manual will be presented to students, but it's strictly for the purpose of sharing information with them about Reiki and different aspects of it. Since I am a very visual person, I feel it's necessary to have things to follow along when I'm learning something. I have a hard time just taking notes and I know other people feel the same way. So, it's important to me to be able to offer something in the way of a manual. Just want to avoid any potential legal issues with it.
Thanks for anything you'de care to share.
Have a nice weekend!
I wish I could help you, but I only know what you do.....if you are selling something, you can't use copyrighted material. It's dicey because you aren't selling the manual, but you are charging for the class and the manual is being used for the class.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried searching this out on the internet?
I was actually going to suggest what Bijoux shared, have you tried searching this out on the Internet, as far as the legality in using them and charging for classes?
ReplyDeleteOr, maybe you could contact your Reiki Master teacher and ask her.
As far as using the photos of the various Reiki teachers, I truly think it's okay to use them in your manual, but as far as using someone else's manual material without permission, I really don't know the proper protocol.
Wish I could me more helpful, M!
Have a great weekend....X
I'd like to help Mary, but I really think you need a legal opinion on this. Perhaps you could try one of the legal forums...there are many that will be able to give you an opinion as to what you can and cannot do...legally! Hope that helps...I really don't know much about it!!
ReplyDeleteCopyright is a tricky subject. If you don't have permission to use some or all of an article it could be construed as plagiarism. It is wise to seek permission and/or credit the piece to the person who wrote it. Seeking legal opinion is your best bet. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteNothing to add to what has already been said - tricky and fraught with problems if you don't get it just right.
ReplyDeleteAs far a I know (from my old embroidery guild) if you are using copyrighted material for profit in anyway, you must get permission from the writer/site/designer, etc.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely tricky and can end up being costly.
Good luck, Mary. I think you'll be an amazing teacher!
I can't add anything other than I'm pretty sure that if the manual you create is given out in a class you charge for then it is considered part of what you're gaining a profit from
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ron about the pics, if they've been around so long they're most likely common property
wikicommons has some info about copyright vs. common property, I did some research there when I got into a wee bit of trouble for using a Google image in a post
so, I said I had nothing to add and then went on and on
I wish I could help but I don' know anything about this stuff! I am sure though there must be people out there who have pictures to share.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your thoughts! I am doing some research and will pick a few more brains about it as I go.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, I may have to really condense what I planned to offer in the manual if I can't get permission or additional information and just share websites and book titles with students for them to read things on their own.
A work in progress.....
I'm not so good with this stuff. sometimes I use an image and forget to credit where it came from. I guess it's completely different if you are using the image where profit is ultimately involved. When I started my blog over again under a new name, I googled images of a circus tent. I found one I liked and traced it back to a circus blog. I emailed the gentleman and he was happy to give me permission. It probably wasn't his image either ;) I just feel better, profit or not, to attempt to track down the source and ask for permission. That way, nothing comes back to bite me.
ReplyDeleteIf you're using small bits of info, you can quote and provide either a link to the source or list the source in your bibliography. Here's a quick link with the info you have to supply:
ReplyDeletehttp://library.csudh.edu/citesrc.pdf
If you're going to include whole .pdf's, then yes, get permission. Same goes for photographs.
If in doubt, then yes, ask for permission.
If you're using kanji, then simply write it out by hand and scan it in. Use your own words to describe. At least, that's what I would do.
You can also look online for free online stock artwork and photos. Search around. You'll be surprised at what's out there.
Of you can troll places like Flickr. I know a lot of people put their stuff up there under creative commons for free use. If not, they're more then likely to allow you to use their work if you ask.
Whew! Good luck!
argghhh!!! how frustrating! I'm not sure how the whole copyright thing works, I want to say WOOT!! to you and your Reiki....something I've always been interested in. I hope you get it all figured out and can put together an awesome manual!
ReplyDelete:)
Many people talk about fair use as if that makes it okay to copy someone else's work. However, if someone takes you to court over a copyright issue, you have to admit to the infringement, and then claim it is “fair use.” Better not to take the risk.
ReplyDelete