I think this is going much farther than licensing of images (Disney, John Deere, etc.). It is the designers who are starting to kick up a fuss about infringement of copyright. See this recent thread:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...y-t168936.html
I visited the website to check this out before the link was deleted, and I can't find it again, so I may not have all the details straight. This is a quilter who published a book of patterns with fabrics donated to her by manufacturers. She and her publisher are being sued by a fabric designer of one of the fabrics that was used in one of the quilts in her book. My best guess is that the designer of the fabric did not sell design rights to the manufacturer, but rather just sold them the right to print and sell the fabric. The manufacturer has declined to become involved. The publisher is going to bat for both themselves and the quilter who wrote the book, but I'm thinking the designer may have a reasonable legal case for the lawsuit.
I don't know how to feel about this. For me, there is too much legal hairsplitting in the world already, plus there is enough complexity in my world already (what with computers, board changes, cell phones, tvs that hook to computers.....). Now I have to worry about the fabric I used in the stuffed animals I made for the local school bazaar??? Enough already!!! However, I can also understand how designers may feel they are being ripped off if others profit from their creative work. I wish manufacturers could buy the design rights to designs they contract to print and sell. Suppose most designers do not want to do that, though.