How to (Really) Enjoy Copyrighted Coloring Books and Pages

Categories: Tutorials & Guides

Learn how to really enjoy copyrighted coloring books/free coloring pages.

Have you ever wondered about coloring books and Copyright and what you are allowed to do with the books you have purchased? Like most people in the Adult Coloring Community, you are unaware and probably don’t care.

What this article is not about. The article is not going to be an article that shames you; instead, it is an article that will help you understand all the good things you can do with copyrighted coloring books, free coloring pages, and other creative works you enjoy.

What this article is about. In this article, I would like to share how Copyright protects the artists, protects you, protects the adult coloring community, protects website owners, and much more. Copyright gives you many wonderful options and insights into what you can safely do with the coloring books and free pages you enjoy coloring.

How to Enjoy Copyrighted Coloring Books
Table of Content

Defining Copyright for Publishers
How to Enjoy Copyrighted Coloring Books and Pages
Other Resources to Consider

Other resources. Check out other supporting resources on ColoringButterfly.com that you might enjoy.

As we begin this article, consider this simple example.

What would you think a person who entered a clothing store, tried on dresses, blouses, and skirts, picked the ones she liked and walked out of the store without paying?
- Wrong, or right? Your first thought might be it’s wrong.
What if you were told that she didn’t know it was wrong?
- You probably would reply it is still wrong.

I want to restate what I previously shared…Copyright gives you many wonderful options and insights into what you can safely do with the copyrighted coloring books and free pages you enjoy coloring.

When you finish the article, I hope you can say, “Copyright is not so bad. It does make the adult coloring community a better place.” I would like to start by defining Copyright. [TOC]

Table of Contents

Defining Copyright for Publishers

Coloring books are filled with black and white line drawings. Under copyright laws, these black-and-white drawings are works of art and are covered by copyright law. A publisher of adult coloring books must have the right to reproduce those drawings; otherwise, they infringe on someone else’s Copyright.

How do these publishers gain the right to claim Copyright? Here are the key points to remember.

The publisher created the drawings. The publisher is an individual or group of people who created the drawings themselves.

Publisher purchased copyrights. The publisher bought the rights to the drawings, including the copyrights.

Publisher-licensed drawings. The publisher licenses those rights from the copyright holder.

Publishers hired others to create drawings. The publisher’s employee or contractor created the drawings as a “work for hire” under the U.S. Copyright Act (or another country’s similar law.)

Defining public domain for drawings. When drawings are in the public domain, nobody owns them. In the U.S., this would typically apply to works created before 1923. However, that’s not always the case; do your due diligence before assuming something is in the public domain.

What are my rights when I buy a copyrighted coloring book or pages? There are a few do’s and don’ts when you purchase copyrighted coloring books or pages.

You are permitted to

Post your finished/colored work online (i.e., in Facebook groups) to share with others
Give away your colored original piece to anyone you wish

You are not permitted to do

Distribute copyrighted work, even if you paid for it
Post blank uncolored pages online
Give copies/scan uncolored pages to someone else – even if it’s a freebie posted by the artist

How to share Free Pages. If you want a free page, share a link to where the artist posted it so others can visit their site and get it themselves. [TOC]

Enjoy Copyrighted Coloring Books and Pages

Copyright gives you many wonderful options and insights into what you can safely do with the copyrighted coloring books and free pages you enjoy coloring. Let’s look closely at what Copyright means to the adult coloring community.

When to Distribute Copyrighted Free Pages

Can we distribute Copyright or free pages? Let’s keep it simple. If YOU did not create the work, DON’T distribute it. It does not matter if it is Copyright or Free pages you downloaded; you are not allowed to distribute. It is still illegal even if you distribute the artwork and give the artist credit.

Tip about sharing Free Pages. If you want a free page, share a link to where the artist posted it so others can visit their site and get it themselves. [TOC]

You Won’t Help an Artist Sell More

Giving away an artist’s work will not publicize or help them sell more coloring books. Let’s say that you are a fan of an artist and want to share your excitement about a beautiful coloring book. So you make a copy, scan or other and give it away. You believe by sharing, you will help the artist make more sales.

This is NOT True. Many of my creative colleagues and I have given away creative content or been given permission to distribute samples of each other’s work. In every case, there were no extra sales to speak of. That’s right if you give away a copyrighted image, the person received it for free, and they have no reason to buy the image you gave them for free. The only thing you are doing is taking sales away from the artist.

Tip for helping the artist sell more. If you want to share your excitement about an artist’s work/coloring book, you can: Share a colored work (e.g., a page that you have entirely colored). Include the artist’s name and where the original came from (e.g., website, coloring book name). [TOC]

But I Bought the Copyrighted Coloring Book

Buying a Copyrighted coloring book does not give you special privileges. Just because you bought a copyrighted coloring book does not mean you do whatever you want. As stated above, “Copyright does not allow you to distribute copyrighted work, even if you paid for it.” The same rule applies to coloring books, sheets, and pages. [TOC]

It’s for Personal Use Only

Purchasing a copyrighted coloring book, page, or sheet is for personal use only. When you purchase the coloring book, page, or sheet for personal use, you can not scan it, copy it, or tear out the page and give it to others. You can, however, give away a page that you have purchased and colored.

Tip for sharing copyrighted coloring books, pages or sheets. If you want to gift a coloring book, page or sheet, buy an extra copy of the work and give it away. You must purchase a coloring book, sheet or page every time you gift a coloring book. [TOC]

How to Share Electronic Files

You cannot share an electronic file you purchased for free. Like buying a physical copy of a copyrighted coloring book, page or sheet, you cannot share an electronic file (e.g., PDF, ebook, .jpg, .png or other) for free. The same rules of distribution are the same for physical and electronic files. If you want to share an electronic file with others (e.g., family, friends, colleagues) or give it as a gift, you need to purchase another electronic copy. Or ask others to purchase their copy. [TOC]

Distributing Google and Pinterest Images

Don’t distribute images found on Pinterest or Google unless you know TSAL (Title, Author, Source, License). But they are free, you say? Most free coloring books, sheets, pages, and ebooks posted online (e.g., Google, Pinterest) are stolen if you can’t give the file attribution.

There are hundreds of Pinterest/Google accounts that do provide proper attributions. If the site offering the free coloring books, sheets, pages, and ebooks and they cannot answer these four questions for the collection or individual files, don’t download the files. A good rule of thumb is to use the acronym TASL, which stands for Title, Author, Source, and License.

What is the title? What is the name of the material? If a title was provided for the material, include it

Who is the author? Who owns the material? Name the author or authors of the material in question.

Where can I find it? Where can I find it? Since you somehow accessed the material, you know where to find it. Since we live in the Internet age, this is usually a URL or hyperlink where the material resides.

What can I do with it? How can I use it? In copyright law, there is what is called a CC license. This is a must. The license gives permission and defines how the group/person sharing the file is allowed to use the files. It also defines how you can use the files and under what conditions.

Tip about downloading free files. Make it a habit of not downing loading from Google, Pinterest or any site with 100s for free coloring pages that appear to be less than above board. Keep a cautious eye out for the websites in foreign websites; they are notorious for stealing digital illustrations used in coloring. [TOC]

1000’s of Free Pages Are Not Legal Pages…Really

You can find 1000s of legal free files on hundreds of credible internet sites. What about downloading from other websites from credible sources (e.g., artists, companies, creative sites) that offer free files? There are hundreds of these sites worldwide. Most sites will provide the TASL (Title, Author, Source, License). See above for the definition. The website will usually make this information to find. If you can’t find the information, move on to the following site. If you see an image on Google and see “Images may be subject to copyright,” move on. [TOC]

Protect Your Computer from Computer Viruses

Scan all digital downloads for computer viruses. Whether you are downloading coloring pages or other files, make it practice to scan them for computer viruses. Keep a cautious eye out for websites that offer thousands of images for free. They are breeding grounds for serious computer viruses, many of which are foreign websites and pose high risks of viruses. See the article “OOPS! Your Free Coloring Page Included A Computer Virus (Be Safe)” about how to be safe online. [TOC]

Carefully Choose What You Buy

Only buy digital files from sellers who can provide you with the TASL. In my journey in coloring, I have come across individuals and websites selling individual and compilations of digital coloring pages, sheets, and books. But they cannot give me the TASL (Title, Author, Source, License.) See above for the definition. If the seller cannot give the TSAL, you must consider it stolen.

Am I being a little dramatic? I don’t think so. For me, it’s like walking down a downtown street, and a person comes up to me and says, “I have a great deal for you.” He wants to sell me a $100 USD new watch for $20 USD. Nope, I am not going to do it. No, I want to be honest in all my dealings. [TOC]

Downloading Free Images Can Hurt Others

I don’t believe downloading Free digital files hurts anyone. My answer to that statement would be two-fold. You are right. If you know the TSAL, it will not hurt anyone. However, if you don’t know the TSAL, you have to know that you are probably taking income from an artist.

Yes, it could well be hurting someone. Over my career in the creative arts, I have met many artists. They love what they do, but many barely make it as artists. Many artists who have authored great coloring books, pages and more are not rich but have created work for sale.

Unfortunately, as I have shared in this article, many in the adult coloring community have not thought about Copyright. They may well feel they are doing the community a great favor by sharing the free coloring books, pages and sheets. Or they may try to make a little extra money on the side. Copyright is real. If you understand the TSAL, you are good to go. [TOC]

Keep the Coloring Community Safe and Fun

Copyright gives you many wonderful options and insights into what you can safely do with the copyrighted coloring books and free pages you enjoy coloring.

A concluding thought. Let’s do our part in keeping the coloring community safe and fun. What are you going to do after reading this article? I hope we can all be a little more responsible about how, from how, and what you download for free or purchase coloring books, sheets, or pages. Enjoy the world of coloring, respect Copyright and advance the wonderful experience of adult coloring. [TOC]

If you like this article, please share it with others.

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