Originally Posted by dunster

Did you really want us to think about it? Copying from a book is a clear violation of copyright. We are allowed to make copies of a few pages from books only under certain circumstances (for personal study, scholarship, research, or teaching needs). We are not allowed to copy something as a substitute for purchasing it. It's the same as stealing.

Lending a pattern or book is okay. That isn't copying.

As far as magazines, I picked up a quilting magazine at random (Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting) and right away found a copyright statement inside - "no part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher..." So yes, it is a copyright violation. If your friend needs something from the magazine, she should buy it, or you can loan or give her your copy. You can even tear out just the pages she is interested in and give them to her. Most magazine publishers don't have the time, resources or motivation to track down violators, but that doesn't mean it's ethical to copy from a magazine.

Actually, the more I read about copyright, the easier I think it is to understand. It actually makes sense. If someone writes something, she has the RIGHT to control the COPIES.

As far as whether a quilt design described in a pattern is itself copyrighted - only if it's an original design. (If I write a book about elephants, that doesn't mean I own the copyright on elephants! But you can't copy pages from my book, because I do own the copyright on that.)

Another good source of info - http://www.reddawn.net/quilt/copylaw.htm
<end of rant in response to the copyright vent> ;-)