nanac

In my job, I travel to a lot of places, and often look for quilt stores when I have time. in one of those little, out-of-the-way stores, I found several quilt patterns that I wanted, as well as some beautiful fabric. When I got home, I put it away for several weeks, then got one of the patterns out to look at. It has the usual "... cannot be copied or reproduced in any way without written permission from the designer...". Ok, I get that. But the pattern that I thought was a quilt pattern, is actually a cd for embroidery. It has been several weeks, as I said, and honestly don't even remember where I bought it, so I can't try to return it. I could probably figure out how to get a reasonable pattern from the pictures to be able to make the quilt, but does that infringe on the "... not reproduce in any way..." thing?

Buckeye Rose

the copyright is applied to the pattern itself....whether a printed pattern, cd or embroidery program, you cannot make a copy of the pattern and sell it....but using the pattern to create anything is completely legal.

dunster

Sorry, it isn't exactly like that. If the design itself is original, it cannot be copied. But copyright is a very murky issue. Why not just send a note to the designer and ask for permission?

Bneighbor

www.tabberone.com/trademarks/pattern.shtml should take you to a website that will explained what copyright are and are not. What the owner/seller/buyer rights are.
Much has been written about this subject on this and many other "craft/sewing/embroidery forums. Some correct, most not. I was very surprised after reading these articles. This subject has been written about on this forum as late as last week. I actually found the Tabberone website by accident several years ago when my husband was seeking answers concerning copyright and patent questions. Very interesting reading. Not to chastise anyone, but False or misleading information, even given with good intentions, is still false information. Always consult your attorney when seeking legal advise.

ghostrider

Be aware that the information on the Tabberone website is merely one person's opinions and experiences. She is NOT an attorney, nor does she claim to be. She is simply an eBay seller who has been sued multiple times for copyright infringement and has made a name for herself by publicizing her experiences. Her information can be just as false or misleading as anyone else posting here.

I agree with dunster, contact the designer if you have any questions or doubts.

nativetexan

you bought it, of course you can make a quilt from it. even if you can't "read" it. Go for it.

JustAbitCrazy

You can get a copy of copyright laws and read them for yourself. I have done that in the past. Not sure where it is right now, to quote it, but I do remember that if you create a design, which is inspired by someone else's copyrighted design, and yours is still recognizable as having come from that other person's original copyrighted design, you can not claim it as your own, nor can you make copies of it. It is protected by the first person's copyright. May people believe if you change any one little thing about someone else's design, you have not infringed on their copyright, and that is just not what the law says. If you bought the copyrighted pattern, of course you can make something from it, and can change it to suit yourself, but you still may not make copies, for yourself or anyone else. Something else which many people misunderstand: they think it is permissible to make copies of copyrighted material and distribute those copies as long as you do not profit from them (charge a fee). That is not what the laws say. The copyright laws simply say only the owner of the copyright can make copies of the work. Period. It says absolutely nothing about money. And only the copyright owner can further develop their design into another design, or display the work publicly. That's what I remember, anyway.

Bneighbor

[QUOTE=ghostrider;6142390]Be aware that the information on the Tabberone website is merely one person's opinions and experiences. She is NOT an attorney, nor does she claim to be. She is simply an eBay seller who has been sued multiple times for copyright infringement and has made a name for herself by publicizing her experiences. Her information can be just as false or misleading as anyone else posting here.

I agree with dunster, contact the designer if you have any questions or doubts.[/QUOTE

You are correct, she is not an attorney, she represents herself and her experiences only.
But the designer may not understand the law and just because the designer put that fancy disclaimer on the bottom does necessarily make it so.
The idea of purchasing something and being told you cannot use it for what is was intended (purchasing a pattern, book, design etc) is different than purchasing that item and then passing it off as your own. Using the pattern for it's end result (making the quilt) is different from buying the pattern, making copies, then selling it, (either for sale as if you were a distributor or claiming it is your design and selling it outright as your own). That might be against the law, and the original designer may have the right to prosecute and be compensated. I think that is where the whole issue of "copyright" becomes distorted, as to what is "copying" and what is "end use". The original poster was not saying she was going to copy the cd for the purpose of selling it as her own, she said she wanted to make the quilt that as pictured on the cd. Now, was the quilt original to the designer or were the embroidery designs original?
Now, dealing with our court system, is a another issue. You have the right to sue anyone, winning and restitution is another matter. Unfortunately, the wronged party can jump up and down, scream and cry foul, but unless you have the time and money to pursue a case you may be out of luck. Is this right? No, but that is what happens, like it or not. And if you find an attorney who takes the case and works for you, you still have to prove your case and you may not win. If you do win, you may or may not be awarded any compensation. If you are lucky and win you then get to satisfy that judgement. The judgement means you have the right to pursue collection, but collecting that settlement is another thing. Just because you have a judgement, does not mean the other party is going to pay up, you may have to sue to get that. And of course, the attorney will most likely take most of the judgement as payment of services and costs incurred trying the case ( if it even gets that far). Either win or lose, it costs both parties.
All boils down to not who is right, but who the court thinks is right. And "right" and "fair" has nothing to do with it. There is no "justice" in our justice system. Laws are written and broken, or interpreted, as courts see fit.
I am not saying the designer should not be righted. Just saying that because you claim something, it may not be so.
This is, of course, just my opinion and from personal experience of being sued and suing.

Ripped on Scotch

I believe that with most patterns it allows you to copy a pattern but for personal use only.

BellaBoo

I wouldn't lose any sleep over making a quilt from any pattern I bought from a retail store.