Originally Posted by Chele

What if I figure out Apple's "pattern" for the IPhone? Do you think I could sell it? Or is that that license/law thing? Doesn't it really boil down to ethics or manners? If you didn't create it, you should really ask permission to profit from it.

As an aside, I bet all of you talented quilters could come up with your own wonderful patterns. And I'm sure you'd be more than willing to share with the rest of the world. That's what I love about quilters. Huge hearts and sharing personalities. And if your fellow quilter made billions off your pattern without ever asking if it was okay, you'd send a congratulations bouquet, right? Laws or not, what's the right thing to do?

Originally Posted by 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.

Originally Posted by 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.

Originally Posted by 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.

Originally Posted by quiltmom04

McCalls article said that no matter how much you change a pattern, it's still 'derivative' and you not allowed to claim it as yours.

Originally Posted by Virginia Smith

It occurs to me after reading all this discussion, that if we do create a design in EQ or any other way, it might be a good idea to keep all of the working files. Just in case someone thinks you copied their design, you could prove in good faith that this is how you arrived at yours. It is not foolproof, and anyone can say you recreated it, because it all subjective. Just a thought. :wink: