I have wondered the same thing--especially why such a radical take on the subject.
I mean, If you make a pattern and win a prize, you are supposed to share the money with the designer of the quilt?
What about the designer of the fabrics that you used?
What about the "designer of the thread" if you are using something special?
It can get ridiculous, and I'm actually disappointed why that particular article has been made a sticky.
And just because a lawyer somewhere wrote a "cease and desist" letter and someone obeyed doesn't mean that the lawyer was following the law--maybe they were just being a bully.