I am a trial lawyer by day, quilter by night and this discussion has had me alternately laughing, rolling my eyes, and wanting to scream. Scissor Queen is spot on in her comments throughout. You cannot copyright a design. You can copyright the written instructions or the art (individual photos or drawings) but not the idea. Ideas and concepts are not subject to copyright protection. Further, most patterns fall into a "useful items" designation. That is why you cannot copyright a designer outfit or purse. Putting something on a website under a heading that says "Copyright" does not make it law. If you buy a pattern, you may not reproduce and sell the pattern for profit. You may make the item, share the item, sell the item, photograph the item, etc. to your heart's content. If anyone wants the actual Supreme Court case law, I would be happy to provide it, but I thought I'd save you all from that! Now, pick up your needles and make whatever you want!
Oh, and Big Sister - just because you provide quotation marks and source doesn't mean you can copy something. Whie I understand you were being tongue-in-cheek, if those quotes were really subject to copyright protection you would need the author's permission to reproduce them.
Last edited by spstout; 06-04-2013 at 07:15 PM.