Are You A Scrap Lifter?

Do a quick search on the internet for scrap lifting and you’ll find a lot of discussions on the subject. (And a few junkyard websites… but that’s a whole different definition of the term.) For our purposes, scrap lifting is the act of taking another person’s published layout and copying it without making significant changes.

So what is a ‘significant change’ and if I do not comply, will the scrap lifting police be showing up at my door and confiscating all of my scrap booking goodies?

It has been suggested by many published scrappers that a modification should result in at least a 30% change in order to escape being branded as a scrap lifter. The changes should be in the format and also preferably in materials used in the project.

Unless you’re a mathematical genius, you’re likely to have a hard time deciding if you have met the 30% rule. And to be practical, scrap lifting something you’ve seen in an idea book or an online gallery isn’t really an issue for most scrappers. Chances are no one will ever know where you came up with your inspiration.

Lifting another person’s layout and then publishing it as your own is on the other hand a big problem, especially if you accept payment for it. It’s dishonest, unethical and you put yourself at serious risk legally.

Some scrappers argue that many accusations of scrap lifting can be attributed to coincidence. Scrap booking product lines offer suggested uses and two different users follow a similar plan and end up producing a similar end product. No malicious idea stealing involved.

Scrappers often admit that they set out to lift a layout that they admired, but end up following their own creativity along the way and come out with something completely different.

One rule of thumb that most agree on is giving credit for another’s inspiration if you are incorporating a large element of their design into a layout that will be published as your own creation.