Originally Posted by
nstitches4u
dixie_fried,
Thank you for posting. I feel more comfortable knowing that your information comes from attorneys that you know (and love---lol) as opposed to some unknown person writing on an internet website. There is a lot of information (and misinformation) on the internet. It is hard to separate fact from fiction.
I would like to clarify that DH and I are not offering legal advice. Nor am I condoning illegal or immoral activities. My comments were/are very specific to the purchase of patterns and books and the potential sale of items created from those patterns and books.
Our interpretation of Right of First-sale doctrine and Copyright limitations helped us come to the conclusion that products produced from a purchased pattern are not controlled by the designers original copyright. There is no contract between the person who purchase a book or pattern and the author that limits the use of the book or pattern, short of federal law that does not allow the purchaser to make copies of the book/pattern and sell it for profit.
The designer is compensated when the pattern is purchased, so the idea of "STEALING" from designers by selling items made from their sometimes very expensive books seems like a farce. Besides, only the printed words are copyright protected because the government won't grant copyright to an idea or a process.
Another thing I find hysterical is that utilitarian objects (i.e.: quilts, garments, pieces of furniture, etc.) are not eligible for copyright protection. The Copyright laws mention "designs"--designs of SHIP HULLS. Only in the 1990's were fashion designs even considered in the Supreme Court, and the courts decided then that designers of high fashion couldn't make a good enough argument why their garments deserved to be included in the law wording.
Read it all right here:
http://www.copyright.gov/