I just had to share this hilarious email I got back in September to an email account I don’t use very often but it cracked me up and wanted to share:
from: Anne Peterson
to: *******@gmail.com
date: Tue, Sep 16, 2008 at 2:18 PM
subject: saying
mailed-by gmail.comHi Nicole,
I am the author of one of the sayings you have on your site. It is part of a copyrighted poem.
The saying is, “When they placed you in my arms you slipped into my heart.”
My name is Anne Peterson.
I’ve read your site and wondered if you could tell me where you found that saying.
I really would rather you didn’t offer it to others.
Thank you,
Anne Peterson
As a freelance writer, I completely empathize with other writer’s however, you cannot copyright a quote like that. Here is my reply to her:
from: Nicole < ******@gmail.com>
to Anne Peterson
date: Thu, Jan 1, 2009 at 11:45 AM
subject Re: saying
mailed-by gmail.comAnne,
Sorry, I don’t check this email address too often and actually forgot about it for awhile. I just noticed this email you sent. Anyway, in reply to your questions, the following places have this quote that are NOT attached to a poem (your poem) in any way.
http://www.pattisprimitives.com/store/WsDefault.asp?One=784
http://www.renewexpressions.com/WHEN-THEY-PLACED-YOU-IN-MY-ARMS-YOU-SLIPPED-INTO-MY-HEART_p_20-97.html
(a friend of mine has something similar on her son’s bedroom wall from a different company – she custom ordered it)
http://www.target.com/When-Placed-4-Photo-Collage-Frame/dp/B001G0QUAW
Are you going to contact Target??
http://www.geocities.com/heartland/lane/2470/babies.htm
http://www.wowletters.com/kids_quotes.html
I am a freelance writer, and just for the record, my lawyer explained that you cannot copyright a quote like that. It’s been around a LONG time. I’m not sure you realize how easy it is to create a quote that is similar to something someone else wrote. I write poetry as well, and you’d be amazed at how often I see my own words.
Just do a google search for that direct quote and you should have hours of entertainment tracking down the source. Good luck!
Nicole
Well, I don’t know what else to add, except that it is quite difficult to copyright a quote such as that one where it seems as if I’ve seen it before. My son is 14 years old, and I vaguely remember seeing it back that far ago. So I’m not removing it from the site in question, as it seems to be all over the Internet – what do you guys think? I would give her credit except nobody else does, so who’s to say she wrote it?
Popularity: 4% [?]
I agree with you, I would keep it on my site. I had to giggle a little when you asked, are you going to contact Target.
That is just too funny! I don’t see the point of giving her credit either.
I couldn’t help but be intrigued by this email you received. I did a search myself out of curiosity; there is an Anne Peterson who writes verse for cards and plaques and also writes “customized poems.”:
http://annepeterson.wordpress.com/annes-poetry/
The quote does seem to fit into her style of writing, but in all the many, many sites I found that feature this quote, not one attributes it to her. They either state “author unknown” or state no author at all.
If the quote is indeed hers, it would be a courtesy (not a requirement) to attribute it to the author. However, I can’t find any source that states that she is the author of this quote. Like you say, it is spread widely over the internet/web, and I wonder if she intends to write to every one of these sources.
Anyway, it was a fun search!
Amy
Just wanted to check back in and tell you guys, the deal is that if she could prove to me it was her quote, I would obviously give her credit. I am a writer, and have actually had my work stolen and someone else took credit. I’m all about fairness in the copyright world, because it sucks when it happens to you. However, this quote has been around a LONG time and just a few weekends ago, I had the pleasure of seeing it painted on a plaque at a craft fair. I just don’t know how you would prove a quote like that is yours.
Anyway, again – I always give credit, where credit is due, and would never deny anyone that right, but in this case, I just cannot give her credit for a quote that at no point links to her.