MistyMarie

I believe that if you use a pattern that you purchased, you have the right to sell your creation. If the designer of that pattern wanted exclusive rights to sell the finished project, they should NEVER have put the pattern out for sale. If you copy someone else's design and sell it without purchasing the pattern, then it is wrong.

You cannot even use a commercial photo as inspiration for a painting or a quilt without getting permission from the holder of the copyright if you make money on the painting or quilt. If they recognize their photo in your painting or quilt, they can sue you, whether or not you gave them credit and/or you own a copy of their photo.

vickig626

I ran across a pattern on ebay that someone was selling for around $14....someone had actually bid on it too. I have the same pattern that was "free" when I did a google search. I wanted to email the seller but wasn't sure what type of trouble I could have started since I didn't know details. All comments are posted online on ebay.

e-patterns.com also sells patterns that are located in magazines and books. I bought the book on 101 potholders mainly for the variety of blocks. e-patterns does state it's from that book but why would anyone pay $5 for a few patterns when they can buy 101 patterns for $15???

vickig626

I've run into this as well. The pattern actually says it's only for personal use and items made from pattern can't be sold, which I think is unfair. I don't buy these patterns if they say that.

My quilt instructor said that if a pattern is modified 40%, you can call it your own and sell it as your own and the items made.

ghostrider

In the cases fought by Michael Meaders and Karen Dudnikov, the eBay power sellers known as Tabberone that were cited by dunster, the question was whether or not they could sell items made from licensed fabrics, not whether they could sell items made from a copyrighted pattern. The reselling of licensed fabrics, whether as a finished item or simply as fabric, is accepted as allowed under the “first sale doctrine”. In effect, the copyrighted item is the fabric and you are reselling your original copy of that item. That’s fine, like reselling a book.

Quilts made from patterns are a different story. If the design is original work, which I assume is what we are talking about here, then the design as well as the instructions and drawings are copyright protected. If the design is in the public domain, then only the instructions and drawings are copyright protected.

The question here was the commercial production of items made from a copyrighted design. The copyrighted item is the pattern itself, meaning the book and everything included in it (i.e., the design). You may resell the original pattern as provided under the first sale doctrine, but you may not copy it in any way. I think we have pretty much agreed with that, right?

Here’s the hard part. When you make the pattern into a quilt, you have copied the design into fabric form and that design is copyright protected. Yes, that’s the intended use and because of that fact, the pattern writer/designer has the right to decide how many of those copies you can make and whether or not you can sell them. That’s why most patterns transfer limited rights to reproduce the design for personal use or small numbers of sale quilts. The first sale doctrine does not apply to quilts made from copyrighted patterns. The useful object exception does not apply to quilts (as Tabberone insists), because it is the design that is copyrighted, not the quilt. It is also disproved by several court cases that have upheld the rights of quilt designers.

And there are cases in which designers have gone after those who infringe on their rights. When designer Judi Boisson learned her designs were being used on knock-offs made in China, she sued the chain stores responsible including Burlington Coat Factory, May Co., the Linen Source, Dayton Hudson, the QVC Home Shopping Network and the Shanghai company's New York office. She was awarded $600,000 in legal fees and damages.


References:
http://www.paulrapp.com/articles.php (he is a copyright attorney for artists)
http://www.quiltingbusiness.com/quilting-copyright.htm
http://www.kathleenbissett.com/Copyright%20Article.pdf
http://lostquilt.com/index.php/prote...ht-your-quilt/
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf
http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing...1107196-1.html

MistyMarie

I often use my patterns as inspiration, but NONE of my final creations end up looking like the pattern because I always modify or alter the design to my own. That being said, so many patterns look alike. How can anyone be sure, especially with pieced blocks, that they are creating something that someone else hasn't done in the past?

I few years ago, I designed a block and then a quilt to go with that block in EQ6. I was surprised to see the exact same designed block on the web. I never saw the block on the web before I created it myself. If I wanted to sell my block pattern, I would not be able to because someone else had "beaten" me to it, even though I, in no way, copied their block.

I also see quilts in books that use the same block pattern as other books do. How can they do that and not violate copyright?

ajonkarl

When one buys a Simplicity, McCalls pattern, it is assumably to make the item, so when I purchase a quilt pattern is it not to make the design? I doubt anyone would use the exact fabric, so it would not be an exact copy. I don't understand what the issue is here, unless someone makes exact replicas and tries to sell them, then it would not be fair to the designer.

MistyMarie

I can understand mass production from a pattern --- as in the case of Disney. I wouldn't buy a pattern if I could just go to the store and buy the quilt for a fraction of the cost of making it myself. However, I doubt seriously that designers care that much about someone who is selling a quilt or bag at a craft bazaar. It wouldn't be worth their time or effort to sue someone.

That being said, this makes me feel like my quilts are not really my own anymore if I use a pattern.

ghostrider

That's called a derivative work. If you have access to the original work (like a photo) and a 'reasonable observer' could see your work as 'substantially similar' to the original work, then it's a derivative work and it's copyright infringement. There is no 40% rule, change the color, size, fabric, etc qualifier that makes it okay.

montanablu

from MistiMarie -- "I often use my patterns as inspiration, but NONE of my final creations end up looking like the pattern because I always modify or alter the design to my own. That being said, so many patterns look alike. How can anyone be sure, especially with pieced blocks, that they are creating something that someone else hasn't done in the past?"

After reading all the posts, I'm surprised this slant had not been mentioned before. Hasn't everyone seen - & wondered?! - about all the magazine patterns (as well as quilting patterns & books at retail) that are near exact duplicates of a previous pattern??! I can go thro my quilting magazines & show you dozens of patterns that are just like another magazine, even another issue of the same magazine! Not once has any aricle given credit to another mag or designer. And this is the publishing business?? If they don't seem to be concerned about copyright issues, why are we losing sleep over them?? You would think that if anyone would be extra cautious when it comes to copyright infringement, it would be the magazines & pattern publishers themselves.
I've looked this subject up numerous times, & while we all have our 'take' on it, it just seems to be one of those never-ending debates that only give us wrinkles & gray hair. And I have enough already, don't need or want anymore! lol

nena

Ok I have a question. I was trying to get my daughter into quilting. sent her a couple of sites to look at. I also saw a beautiful quilt someone had done ,and copy and pasted it in a email so she could see how beautiful it was ,and maybe get interested in quilting. I received and email telling me to be careful because I had did something wrong ( still don't know what) about infringement???? So now I just dont send anything much because I am afraid I will do something wrong? Go figure. It had to be from this board or one other
because that is all I go on. If it was here please let me know what it was. Thanks