Originally Posted by plfreitag
Patrice said:
i think i'll just do as my instincts suggest and wait to see who sues. i don't have much anyway. wouldn't be worth what it'll cost them in legal fees. LOL
I couldn't do that, knowing what I know now after looking some of this stuff up. I simply couldn't sleep with myself. I'd far rather write the designer or make up my own version altered enough that it's not a copy of the one I saw so that I don't violate the unspoken honor rule. I know if I made a pattern and was making part of my living selling it, I'd be really ticked off if I knew someone was making countless copies of it and selling it without credit, thereby selling it as their design...it's like lying.
Trisha in MO
You can't ask the designer's permission unless (1) you know who that is and (2) that person is alive. in which case you already know for sure it's copyrighted, so of course the right thing to do is ask. that's a no-brainer. same holds true if the person died fewer than 95 years before you want to use it. the right thing to do is to try contacting the designer's heir(s).
the questions surround those patterns of unknown origin and age.
i'm forkin' out the bucks for the quilt encyclopedia. the book is under $30. the companion software for EQ is (yeeps!!!) around $70. seems a worthwhile investment for anybody who might want to sell something - or give away more than one copy - some day.
and that getting me to design it idea ain't half-bad. i'm not famous yet, so you could probably get it for a steal (but not from a steal. that would start the confusion all over again!) :mrgreen: