I know from looking at embroidery designs on the net that some Companies out there put up design for sell and it says they are copyrighted ...... Well, a lot of them were taken from FREE clipart and claimed. I saw two or three on one site that I reconized, so I went back and checked my FREE Clip Art that I bought and paid for, and there the designs were, exact dups.
I also digitized some of the designs that I have in my stash and intend to use them as I see fit. Most of mine I use on my quilts or quilts for others. If they want to claim copyright, they need to DRAW a design/pattern themselves. Most quilt patterns have been around for so many years that no one know where they came from.
Anyway.....
Syl