She is letting you use the light table for free......

If she is a good friend I would have no problem with telling her that you will gift the pattern to her or sell it to her. True, the designer doesn't get more money this way but it is legal. Just being a friend!

Why not share. I know all the talk about copyright infringment. Is there anything on the pattern that says you can't share with anyone.

At Quilt Guild last week am attorney gave a talk.
He started with-Goodness all of you ladies will be needing my help someday-IF anyone of you here has been copying each others patterns and just giving them away to all that wants them. Then he laughed. He gave a great talk on copyright laws.
If I get a "FREE" pattern and someone wants it I always put
on the copy printed by permission of--then whomever I got it from.

I have offended friends who have enjoyed listening to a CD at my house, and
then asking if they could borrow it to burn a copy for themselves.
It does deny the artists their share of the transaction but it is frequently
very awkward, so I sympathize....-Judy

Please remember if you give or sell the pattern to someone else you may not use the pattern ever again So if you like to make a pattern KEEP it so you are not breaking any copyright laws by getting rid of the pattern and then making again.

You know, this is a BRILLIANT idea for a speaker at a guild meeting. You just have to peek at the copyright thread currently running to see the amount of mis-information and lack of knowledge of a very relevant subject.

But having the attorney there, especially giving examples that are faced daily in the quilting world, would be very enlightening.

And even if they do not specialize in copyright cases, if they were made aware of the general and specific issues ahead of time, they could prepare. I'm sure every guild has at least one lawyer member (or a close relative of one that could be dragged in ;-)).
It could be like "Bring Your Lawyer to Guild" Day.

And, in case there isn't anyone related, I'm sure a local lawyer would be thrilled to address a room full of that many potential clients.

Well our replies have hit all over, so it is really going to have to be your decision. My input....is it worth causing a problem in your friendship? If not, then share or purchase a pattern for your friend. For a close friend, I would not allow a $12 pattern to cause a problem or end our friendship, but I would be just as comfortable sharing. I wouldn't just share with everybody, that would infringe on the designer. I for one hope you post your decision & how your friend reacts.

why don't you just buy her the pattern as a gift. no one would get hurt and you did a nice thing for a friend

Where did you get that idea? I've never heard that before. The only thing you cannot do is make a copy of the pattern for yourself and then give or sell the original to someone else. If you can make it from memory, of course you can make it again...and you can always borrow it back again if you can't make it from memory. Just because you give a pattern away does not bar you from ever making it again.