Originally Posted by
Manalto
So stealing a little is OK, but stealing a lot isn't? Unfortunately, "commercial" has already been defined as selling for profit; we don't get to modify that definition to suit ourselves. How much time (or money) a person has spent making copies of someone else's design is immaterial and certainly doesn't justify its theft.
No, I don't believe stealing a little is okay. But I don't believe selling a quilt you've made from a purchased pattern is stealing. My understanding is that US law states that the useful article made from a pattern, is not considered a copy of the pattern. The pattern refers to the written directions for making the quilt, not to the useful article that results from following the copyrighted directions. So, making a copy of the pattern would mean making a copy of the written directions, not making a quilt using the directions.
As far as 'commercial', I'm not sure of the definition, but if it does mean selling for profit, most people selling a quilt they've made from a purchased pattern are unlikely to break even when factoring in the time spent at skilled-laborer wage. Profit would only start to come into it if someone set up a business to mass-produce the item at low cost, and in that case, I agree that an arrangement would have to be made with the pattern designer.