Here is your answer. It is dumb to think that they can patent a pattern, but they can patent the way they did a certain design or quilt. Just don't copy them, change them in some way so that you are the original of that use of the pattern. Dumb isn't it!
Originally Posted by
dunster
The written instructions and photos or drawings used for those instructions are copyrighted, not the design itself. The written instructions are what make up a pattern.