Originally Posted by
ghostrider
Please give specifics. The only place I have seen any turmoil on this issue is on message boards, forums and blogs. There is no factual information anywhere, just rumor, heresay, speculation, panic and hysteria.
I have spoken with fabric retailers, large and small, and they are not concerned. I suspect the Emily Cier case that Prism mentioned is based entirely on the right of public display granted to copyright owners (the exception of display in person by a legal copy owner does not fit if you publish a picture in a book) and has absolutely nothing at all to do with this 'not for commercial use' hoopla.
Show me proof that anyone has brought suit against anyone else for selling something made from fabric restricted by 'not for commercial use' on the selvage. We are NOT talking about licensed fabrics, trademarked designs, or anything other than simple, straight-forward quilting fabric restricted to 'personal use only' by the designer. So much rumor (how many threads are going on this subject now?), so little proof.
And FYI, olebat, one item sold one time constitutes 'commercial'. It is not a matter of quantity, legal organization, or intent.
The big point, and thanks for pointing it out, is that a large percentage of the people posting to these threads are confusing two issues.
The "Emily Cier" case really doesn't have anything to do with "Not for Commercial Use" printed on the fabric selvedge.
The former is a designer trying to prevent a pattern designer from using images of her fabrics in a book. Why, we don't know. The manufacturer of the fabric apparently gave needed permission. Perhaps the fabric designer has had a falling-out with the manufacturer, it happens quite often in the business.
But that case really has NO bearing on the item of concern here, and I don't understand why people are getting worked up about it. What most of us really want to know is if we need to pay attention to the selvedge statements "Not for commercial use, etc" and whether we need to worry about being sued over making a couple of placemats or pot-holders or soft books or crib quilts and then selling them at our local craft fair, etc.
And the fact is -- No, you don't, unless you are buying the fabric wholesale and mass-manufacturing/mass-marketing the items. The notices on fabric are put there mainly to restrain large-scale manufacturers from using licensed fabrics to manufacture items, thereby co-opting the original licensor from their lawful use of their designs, and more specifically, to prevent the licensed manufacturer from selling the fabric into the manufacturing market.
So, the licensor can require that the manufacturer puts the notice on the fabric, they can also dictate who to and for what purpose the fabric is sold by the manufacturer, restraining them from selling the fabric to manufacturers of merchandise. Thus, the manufacturer is forced to sell the fabric only into the retail market. Once it has been sold into the retail market, the licensor CANNOT in fact dictate to the end retail customer what purpose the fabric is put to by that retail customer.
This is well-established in legal decisions. Original licensors, if they've done their homework, already know they don't have a case, so it's highly unlikely they'll waste money coming after you, the home crafter.
There have been several cases of companies trying, and in every case, they've failed.