Originally Posted by
vickig626
I was told by a quilting teacher that if you change the pattern 30% from the original, you are the "new" owner of the pattern. So, if you make enough changes, there's no problem. Examples -- block size bigger or smaller, sashing size different, borders different, etc.
hope this eases your concerns.
This idea of there being a certain amount of alteration that makes it 'yours' is incorrect. It's one of the big myths about copyright law and one of the most often repeated by quilters (#6 in the link below).
If the design is still recognizedable as someone else's, it's a derivative work and is in copyright violation. The courts intentionally set no limit of how much change makes it 'safe', leaving it as a case by case decision.
http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html
ETA: Techniques, how one does something, cannot be copyrighted or patented. The tools, yes, the instructions, yes, but not the actual actions.