Paula did in fact sue the hotel and won. She had the copyright "registered" which then gave her the right to proceed legally. She also no doubt had the resources to take them on and she knew that the hotel had deep pockets. I highly doubt that the "ordinary" designer (like us peons!) would ever go to the expense of registering a copyright let alone proceed legally against a quilter that probably has little to go after. Paula was very smart to do what she did. We need to respect copyrights out of respect if nothing else but unless they are registered, a designer cannot take a legal stand. I took a class in copyright law and worked as a paralegal for several years. Sylvia Landman has lots of info on this subject. Google sylvia landman copyright law