Originally Posted by sewcrafty
That's interesting, I'm doing a quilt for my sister. The center is a watercolor (went to a class and taught this techq.), machine applique of my own, plus a border of twisted ribbon and then finishing with another border (probably a scallop, not decided yet). So I've put a number of different techiques, styles, etc. does this make it my own or copywrited because of the watercolor center? Also, what if I sit down and draft up something original to me that's been done before?
techniques can't be copyrighted. they must be patented in order to be protected.
if the watercolor in the center of your quilt was made from somebody else's pattern then you can't copyright the whole quilt as your own design. if any other part of your quilt contains elements of somebody else's unique, copyrighted design, then you can't claim the resulting design as your own. if you designed your own center using the technique you learned, and also made up the rest as you went along, then it's yours.