This is a email I received from one of the sellers I bought from. It is pretty interesting. Not that I have any opinion about it at all, for I buy them myself if they interest me. Here is the email ....
Occasionally I have an eBayer question me as to whether selling patterns from magazines is legal. I want to assure you that it is. The problem is not understanding the difference between COPYright and RESELLright Laws. If you have concerns please read the following information:
Once someone has legally purchased a magazine, they have the right to resell it, tear it apart, or discard it in any way they want. This right falls under the FIRST SALE/RESELL LAW (a section of Copyright Law). The buyer paid for the right with their purchase. The publisher and designer/s received payment on the FIRST SALE, and cannot claim additional money for re-sales. Of course the resell must be ORIGINAL pages… not COPIES.
Which brings us to COPYRIGHT LAW. Patterns (even one magazine page) cannot be COPIED and then sold without permission from the publisher and/designer. This violates COPYright Law. Not only is it illegal to sell copies of patterns but also to BUY copies of patterns. Be aware that there are sellers on eBay who will make copies of one or more of the pages of the magazine patterns they sell. This is prohibited by eBay and against the law, but it still happens. You can feel confident knowing that I am not one of them.