Originally Posted by cbpirate

referring back to tillamook cheese: They also bought out the Bandon Cheese Factory, then turned around and sued Bandon and several businesses in Bandon because they used the word Bandon. They lost because Bandon had been using the name before Bandon Cheese Factory was even started. By the time everything was said and done, Bandon Scotland got involved and it became even more wild. Bandon is starting up a new cheese factory and their only limitation is that they cannot open another Bandon Cheese Factory because Tillamook owns that name. Anything else with Bandon on it can be used because it is not a copyrighted name.
Fabric is the same, someone makes up a design to put on the fabric, says it is copyrighted, then sells it to someone to use. The person making the design has been paid for their efforts by the manufacturer. The consumer buys it to use and can use it as they see fit. If another manufacturer wants to mass produce an item, it is then commercial and has to be relicensed to be used.....that is how I see it and will continue to look at it. If it is not correct, then I will be sued I guess, but one or two items is going to cost anyone more than they could ever recover by suing for a "copyright issue".