ETA 4/9/10: Article deleted – please go see Scrapbook Update.com
====
This is why I ultimately never bought or promoted Sure Cuts a Lot (SCAL) or Make the Cut … just felt it was icky and probably illegal (not to use the products, but the products themselves). That’s just my own personal feeling on it … I have no judgment on those who have bought either product, and I know there are tons. I see these two products talked about all the time on scrapbook message boards. If you’re unfamiliar: SURE CUTS A LOT (SCAL) and MAKE THE CUT. From the beginning of both products, I just felt like a lawsuit was a MOT*.
*Translation: A MOT is a Matter of Time. I learned that from my high school bud, Nate, who had really bad tires on his car one time and the other guys were teasing him about it. He said, “Hey, it’s just a MOT.” I’ve found that term highly useful in my life since then. Thanks, Nate!
I’m no lawyer, that’s for sure, and I don’t know if this lawsuit will go anywhere. But right when I saw the headline from Nancy’s article, I was like, “Yeah, it’s about time.” I don’t understand why it’s taken them this long to file suit and why they haven’t gone after SCAL (at least, I don’t think they have). It seems pretty obvious that if a product that’s not sanctioned by Provo Craft is using the Cricut logo (with the little copyright “R” and everything!), and selling a product that bypasses Provo Craft’s, something has got to be wrong.
But what do I know? I’m just a blond scrapbooker, not no stinkin’ attorney. I wish both companies luck in coming to a peaceful resolution :)
What are your thoughts??
13 Comments
I too wondered how long it would be before MTC got sued. I feels it’s all in their marketing. SCAL on the other hand doesn’t follow the same marketing scheme as MTC. The general operating program that Cricut functions off is not copyrighted. So for someone to come in and create their own program is not an issue, but when they advertise and show how to get the images off PC cartridges without buying the cartridge, well that’s just wrong. SCAL has always just let word of mouth sell their program but MTC jumped in with both feet and maybe crossed the line. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I’m waiting for someone to come up with their own cartridges that will work in the Cricut. Shouldn’t be that difficult or long before someone does. Thanks for the info. Keep us posted.
If cricut cartridges were not highway robbery there wouldn’t be a need for products such as sure cuts a lot and make the cut. C’mon now, having such high prices cuts out a huge demographic, people like me who don’t want to buy a little old cartridge that costs as much as a video game, just to make a few adorable shapes. I believe Provo Craft is the one in the wrong for taking advantage of its exclusiveness. Open Source is the future and if Provo Craft is going to fight it, it will only lead to its demise, IMHO. You would also think that if I need to pay for a provo craft product they should at least match the price with a level of quality that would be expected. IE, patches and updates on a regular basis or on any basis to say the least. Sooner or later this generation is going to catch up and Provocraft is going to have to cater to the people who are growing up on open source. cmon, i bet half of peoples’ grandmas have facebook. :P
I actually support PC’s steps to head for a lawsuit. The reason they are going after MTC and not SCAL is a feature on MTC that essentially “backs up” all of your cricut cartridges and makes them available to use in MTC. The only way they can do this is to allow the copyrighted images to be used on MTC, and I would totally agree that this is copyright infringement. They aren’t going after SCAL because there is not copyright infringement. There is a statement in the warranty policy that if you use SCAL on the cricut it will void your warranty, which I also believe is fair. I really don’t think PC is doing anything wrong here.
wow, i never heard of that! PS is right then! This is copyright infringement all right. Way to go SCAL for keeping it legal so we can enjoy the freedom of SCAL and tsk tsk MTC for ripping off cricut!
I have never been a fan of proprietary hardware. If you can’t make a competitive product at a reasonable price, don’t be surprised when a smarter techie pops up to bite you in the butt. How long does ProvoCraft think they will stay on top when the technology is already out there to bring a great cutter to the market that will cut anything.
The ability to screenprint was already easily available. How long did they think those who are smarter technicians were going to leave their products alone. They started out with taking advantage of people who were not high tech to begin with by charging an arm and a leg for fonts that are readily availble for free on the internet and cutters that come with that availability. PCs lack of concern to listen to its customers in giving them what they wanted in cart products was unprecedented. Customers have been asking for a cat cart since the beginning….still…NOTHING.
I’m an older user (62) and consider open source the way of the future, too. How long will PC be able to “hoodwink” the rest of world since so many “oldies” are becoming so much more tech savy? It’s just a matter of time. Good luck MTC!
I have both Cricut DS and scal. Never has anyone from Craftedge (scal sure cuts a lot)condoned converting copyrighted PC images in scal. I belong to the offical scal yahoo group and if you so much as try to share a copywrited PC image youare gone! SCAL let me design my own templates and use fonts in designs. I buy an occasional cart too. Y=I thinMTC got a bit greedy showing how to rip off provocraft and that is not right no matter what the cards cost but the Cricut uses an open source interface that anyone can program something for. SCAL had always done business the right way, I’ve used it for 2 years and am very happy, They did nothing wrong. I do not know about MTC though.
There is no way Provo Craft can come into your home and take your SCAL softwear. Once you download the program you can use it as you want. They also cannot make your Cricut stop cutting with SCAL. In the future this may change. However, if you want the SCAL program now there is no worry.
If Provo Craft had not been so very greedy these programs would not be here.
Its a new day and Provo Craft needs to get with the program. I still buy their products and would never use a copywrite item unless I paid for it. But, I will use programs and art others have created. My cricut costs $399.00 and that was more than my printer, so I do not feel bad about using a machine I have paid for.
MTC did not promote the illegal use of copyrighted material. The VERY FEW people that did those things were addressed and their content is no longer posted in the forum. MTC has only promoted the use of the back-up feature for cart’s that you personally OWN. That is not illegal, and is a feature that DS promotes.
Before you go off spouting untruths…do a little research.
Who are you talking to, Shannon? I wrote the blog posts and said, after my initial PERSONAL feelings, that I didn’t know enough about the issue to have an informed opinion. I also said I still thought it was “morally wrong and possibly illegal.” I’m allowed to my own feeling/opinion, correct? If you were talking to me, you need to take back your saucy comment, please (after you “do a little research,” of course). If it’s addressed to someone who left a comment here, please name them so we know who you’re talking to.
I haven’t used either product – yet. But I have to say that Provo Craft a)benefited from someone elses work in using the particular file format they use and they should have known that other programs could create files in that format as well; and b)are short sighted, in that availability of images from other sources at lesser cost will probably sell them more machines (and in the process) probably cartridges that catch someone’s eye, too. It would seem to me that copying my cartridge images to my computer, ultimately to be used with my Cricut as they were originally intended, is not a violation of anyone’s rights. But that’s going to be up to the courts, I guess.I could see them complaining if I then resold the images, but then they have to come after me – not the software maker. I will never pay full price for those cartridges – it’s just outrageous and they’re only able to get those prices because they maintain a monopoly (on a file format that’s freely available). I buy on sale or skip it.
I have a beef with PC. I can not figure out how there can be such a drastic difference in prices.
Cricut carts costing anywhere from $10.00 through $99.00 and that can be for the same cart. It just depends on the retailer, on or off line. I am retired, live on a FIXED INCOME and have to be very careful how I spend my money. I use SCAL. Their products and files are amazing. Their customer service is the best.
Provo Craft apparently needs to clean up its own act before suing others. This is a much more egregious violation in my book:
https://tinyurl.com/242sdeh
Cricut is a limited machine without MTC or SCAL. Was just about to buy SCAL only to discover it was no longer available. Now I don’t need my cricut. There are better machines that are more versatile.