Peckish

Yes, and this is a completely different issue than what we were originally discussing. This is using an artist's work without permission and compensation.

None that have been successful. The rulings have been once you make a quilt, it is yours to do what you want with it, with the exception of any licensed graphics, such as Disney characters or NFL logos. Even for those, you can make a quilt with a Buffalo Bill on it, you just can't sell it without entering a contract and paying exorbitant licensing fees first. It's the written directions and photographs of the process that are copyrighted, NOT the quilt itself. In other words, the actual work product of the original creator. My making of a quilt from a pattern is NOT the original designer's "work product", it is MINE. I could even write up my own directions for the same quilt and sell them as a pattern, as long as I didn't use any of the other designer's photos or copy/paste her directions. This is why you see so many patterns for sale for what is essentially the same quilt, even if they do change the name of the quilt.

I once saw a quilt on a blog. The blog owner published a quilt pattern with pictures of the quilt, along with the statement that you were not allowed to reverse-engineeer her quilt and make your own, you HAD to buy her pattern. The funny thing is, that particular quilt had already been published a few years before, and there were even Accuquilt dies on the market to make it. So she was essentially copying THEM. I doubt she knew anything about it, so does that make her guilty of copying them? What's wrong with the fact that sometimes people come up with the same ideas?

So I guess you've never made a log cabin, or an Ohio star, or a Drunkard's Path? If so, you'd be "copying" a LOT of people.

There are lots of problems with definitions and meanings here. The only time I think a person "copies" someone else is if they make the exact same quilt, with the exact same fabrics and colors, in the exact same setting. That very rarely happens, and if it does, so what? I have a friend who has a visual anomaly, something in her brain that has difficulties with processing color. She prefers to, as you would say, "copy" quilts. I don't think she shouldn't be made to feel bad or less creative because she does that.