Originally Posted by virgwid
Thank you for bringing this up. I am a brand new quilter and frankly this had never even been in my thinking until now. I have several times asked people on the board if they would share their pattern for a particular quilt that I just fell in love with. Most times they would send me a link to where they bought it. Great! I appreciated it. Now I'm wondering if they were thinking I was trying to get away with something. I didn't understand there were copyrighted patterns and such. I bet most people don't realize it until it is brought to their attention.
I used to belong to a charity knitting group and we swapped patterns and books and such all the time. Were we breaking the law? I would think once I bought a book of patterns if I wanted to share it, shouldn't I be able to? And at work, we all read the same authors. One will buy a book and then it gets passed around. Cuts our reading expenses. If libraries can do this, why can't I? And what if I find a great quilting book in the library - I can't use the pattern??? Ok, now I'm getting a headache. :) I want to do the right thing, just confused as to what exactly that is! Virg
If you check a library book out,like I have in the past,I photocopy patterns out of them.But for my own use,not for re-sell.I think that's where the rub is.And just about all pattern books say we may use them for our own use,and make copies for our own use.Just don't re-sell them.I don't re-sell anything,so everything is for my own use.And I don't see anything wrong if you all buy a different book,and all read them.I mean,the economy stinks,and you all paid full price for your books.Otherwise,I'd have to give craftsman sears money,every time I used a screwdriver.Or a hammer.Now,that's rediculas.And there is a limit.Once it's sold,It's sold.I don't care if I pd a quarter for it.If it's copyrighted,the makers were pd at the original time it was bought new.After that,it might end up at a thrift store,or yard sale,or the quilting board.They sell books every day here,do they pay the author again,and again? and again?No,they don't.That would be silly.