Originally Posted by Stummel
Wow, I just woke up and missed a whole page! Since I am new to quilting I don't know much about the ethics involved of sharing patterns etc. I was a bit weary about spending lots of money on a book from which I only use one pattern, but I certainly wasn't trying to cheat Ms Martin out of anything. The library issue is a bit confusing though. When I was at university it was legal to copy 10% of a book without the authors permission, but no more. I don't really understand why it would be more ethical to sign the book out and make her quilt than to copy the pattern and make it, as in both cases she wouldn't earn money from me buying the book, and I wouldn't be distributing it but have "stolen" her idea if you will.
Stummel, I never ever meant to suggest that you or anyone else was trying to cheat anyone out of anything. I'm sorry if it came across that way. I just jumped on this discussion because I have also been trying to "understand" the ins and outs of copyright law, and as members of the forum I think it's our duty to be sure that we don't promote activities on here that would be in violation of other people's rights.
I don't think it's always possible to make sense out of legal matters, but in the case of the library, here is how I look at it. If you own a book, it's not okay to make copies and give them to your friends. It is, however, okay to sell or give the book to your friend, and then the friend becomes the owner. The same goes for the library. If they let you make a copy, and the next borrower makes a copy, and so on, then there are lots of copies out there. The copy has a longer "life" - more time for you to use it - than the original loan of the book. On the other hand, while you actually have the book checked out, you have temporary "ownership" of that book and are allowed to make the patterns in it. (This is not a legal opinion - just my explanation.)