Favorite Fabrics

I would love to know what you all think of this:

http://www.oliverands.com/boutique/. Oliver & S makes some lovely patterns for little kids' clothing. They're also selling licenses, for $6 each, to make ONE item from the pattern, that you can sell. (For your $6 you also get a nice label to sew into the garment.)

Now, if I were selling toddler dresses at a craft show, I would be hard pressed to be able to afford $6 to hand over to the pattern maker for each dress that I sell!

So, while I understand the concept at work here, that Oliver & S would like to get some money for each "derivative work" sold, is the amount they're asking practical? Personally, I love their designs, but I'd never buy one because of this issue. The licensing part is just ... off-putting.

What if you bought the pattern somewhere, and the seller did not inform you, prior to purchasing the pattern, that you could not use it to make items for sale?

Thoughts?

ghostrider

The licensing agreement fees I'm familiar with are 5% of profit. Assuming the unlikely situation where profit is equal to gross sales, then a $6 fee would equate to a $120 selling price. Must be some special little dress!!

Pati- in Phx

Actually, there has been at least one fairly famous case that was won by the designer.
The hotel that connects to the convention center in Houston, where they hold Fall Market and Festival aka the Big Houston Quilt show, had new carpet made for them. The interior designer saw quilt and decided to have the carpet made to look like that style. Without permission of the designer of the quilt. Said designer did indeed sue. She was awarded damages and so much more.......

And there are lots of bag, quilt and and such patterns that do have registered copyrights. And the copyrights, including the making and selling of items from such patterns have been enforced legally.

Several years ago I came across the Taberone site. Much of what they deal with is using fabrics you have purchased to make items for sale. There were companies who have said you cannot make items from their licensed images to sell. This gets into the maze of First Sale doctrine and so forth. (And remember in most cases there is no direct involvement of a lawyer with the Taberone site. Lawyers are quoted from various other sites. ) A very different subject from copyrights and the rights of the pattern writers/designers as regards to reproducing the items for sale. <G>

This is very complex subject. Please, I urge all of you to err on the side of caution. The crux of the matter is that if designers feel they are being taken advantage of, they won't design for us. It costs hundreds of dollars to get a pattern on the market for us. And most designers are just like you and me. Not rich companies, but individuals who are willing to do the work to provide you with a quality product.
I know of one designer that states that her patterns may not be made and sold. She has a very complete explanation on her website, and it has all been done at the insistence of her lawyer. Now, if you buy a pattern, make it up and sell the item with the pattern, that is fine. Or someone can buy a pattern and ask you to make x number of them. And you can charge for your time, etc.
But she does have the legal right to restrict your ability to just buy one pattern and make lots for sale without a pattern for each one. It has to do with depriving the author of income from the sale of the pattern to the individual who has the end product but without buying the pattern, but paying for the product.
Again, this gets complex.
Do a lot more research with several different sites to get a more accurate picture.

Pati, in Phx

catrancher

I offered once to sell a pattern I had used at a reduced price. The designer actually got on the board and told me it was a copyright infringement and illegal. Looking back on it, it was a ridiculous claim. I bought the pattern and as long as I'm not making a profit (I wasn't--I was selling it for less than I'd paid for it), I can do whatever I want with it. It's a little like buying a gift for someone. Just because someone tells you you're doing something wrong doesn't mean that you are, and it doesn't mean they're right. Don't be intimidated. And realistically, is someone ACTUALLY going to come after you? Hardly. It would be too expensive, not to mention the hassle.

I understand artists now coming after people for pirated DVDs and CDs. That's a totally different story. Those folks are pirating thousands, even tens of thousands, of items. In that case, it would make sense to go after a person. But for a one or two time offense? Come on! I'm not advocating knowingly infringing on someone's copyright, but no one should be afraid of innocently posting something out of the goodness of your heart.

JJs

A friend and I were talking about this awhile ago. She has the magazine with the article in it and is flabbergasted at the whole thing. She is now rethinking even being in any quilt shows and/or making quilts that someone MIGHT buy. Her thinking is only use her own designs (like I already do).
As far as I'm concerned some of these "designers" can take a flying leap - if they are so scared that somebody might make a quilt from their pattern (oh duh, isn't that what patterns are for??) and sell said quilt without paying them a royality then they are NOT in the pattern design business because they are creative and need an outlet, they are just greedy.
If I want to make a quilt from someone else's design I'll buy the book or pattern to do so, but right about now, I can't see that happening.
OTOH I'm not making quilts to sell - I make them for my own enjoyment and to GIVE to my kids, grandkids, great-grands etc.
The one I did for consignment I "made up" on my own - I did not use a set pattern - I did use public domain blocks.
I just checked the copyright information in the EQ7 book and I think I'll be using EQ exclusively for designing my own quilts.
Unless you use one of the specifically copyrighted block disks (sold separately) then quilts you design are YOURS....

I think it's disgusting that these so-called designers are stiffling people - I was amazed that my friend feels she can no longer use patterns that are 'out there' for download or to buy or whatever.

The whole idea behind quilting was SHARING blocks - and people made their own quilts from those blocks...

Some of the magazines and books lately have some gawd awful ugly quilts in them that I wouldn't 'copy' on a bet so think these designers are really reaching to come up with something 'new' they can lay claim to....

(the EQ7 copyright info is on page 4 of the book)

Another thing that blows me away is when some 'designer' copies a design from somebody else or uses an OLD public domain design and does something then claims the design - that's disgusting and they should be zapped by lightning LOL

sculpyfan

Lazy Girl purses says you can't sell the items you make from her patterns. I know a lot of the purses for sale are her designs. I don't know if she has a legal right to ask it and doubt that the purse police would look you up if you did.

majormom

Very interesting! Thank you very much

thequiltladies

As some one who designs patterns, you MUST have permission to sell items from books, patterns, etc. The patterns in the books are for your own personal use, not for resale. This goes for quilt guilds too, just because one person purchases the pattern, they cannot put the pattern in a newsletter without permission. Please, remember it's just like copying a DVD or CD, it's stealing. I DO make my payments from my designs and I need each sale.

Sadiemae

Seems to me like everyone has differing opinions. I read the taberone article and according to that once the pattern is sold, the designer relinquishes rights to anything that is made from that pattern. They only retain the rights to the pattern being copied illegally which isn't wht is being discussed.

yellowsnow55

Thanks for that, could not have worded that so eloquently myself. Credit the designer and make sure you have permission.
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