where did you read that?

My sew group wanted to make quilts to sell using a bought pattern. We contacted the designer and she said buy as many patterns as the quilts we were making to sell. All she wanted was the profit from the patterns to satisfy her end and that was all she was entitled to legally. We bought 20 patterns. Sold 18 quilts. One member's husband is an attorney and he said we didn't even have to contact the designer as long as we had documentation we bought 20 patterns sold no more then 20 quilts. Anyway no one was arrested.

That is different from your explanation in your first reply. Yes, if you have a group of 20 quilters, each one should purchase the pattern, not share photocopies. However, an individual may buy one pattern and make as many things from that pattern as he or she wants. Big difference.

Think of a commercial pattern as a book; the designer is the author, with all rights to the instructions, diagrams, photos used, etc. It is intellectual property. The author cannot limit the number of times you personally read the book, but you are not allowed to make copies and hand them out to your book club or lit class.

That is not true. You can use the pattern for as many items as you like. You cannot copy and sell the pattern itself.

The Grateful Dead T shirt example is not valid. The Grateful Dead is a registered trademark issue, not a copyright issue.

I agree with Onebyone, on part of this point. If a group is making a quilt, I maintain that you just need one copy for the entire group so long as you are making one top. The group as an entity is making the quilt, therefore one pattern. Just like when a corporation buys software and puts it on a particular computer. Everyone gets to use the computer, one at a time, no infringement.

But this is why we have lawyers, each of us can see so many things clearly on our side of the line (even if it is considered clearly wrong by those on the other side), and then there are the gray issues that we have to work through on a case by case basis.

The designer I talked to said it didn't matter if one person or twenty wanted to make and sell twenty quilts of one pattern. Twenty patterns should be bought. One for each quilt made. This gives the designer her due from each quilt sold but not mass produced. That would require a different contract. I could make and give away as many as I wanted from one pattern but not sell them. If in doubt contact the designer if it is a published pattern.

i can see her point if each person working on the one quilt needs their own copy of the pattern in order to do their part of the top. a copy for each would certainly be more convenient than everybody gathering around the single copy every time they needed to look at it. and it would be wrong to make copies to pass out.

if twenty different people are each making one or more quilts from that pattern she would, again, have a right to expect each person to buy their own pattern.

however, if one person buys the pattern and then refers to it to make twenty quilts, i am not convinced that person has broken the law. (of course, i don't have a clue to where the line is between making multiple quilts and mass production of that quilt using one copy of the pattern.)

pattern makers and fabric designers count on our lack of knowledge and fear of lawsuits to demand all sorts of crazy things to which they are not entitled.

The designer/originator/publisher has no say in what you do with something once you purchase it as long as you do not infringe on the copyright. The copyright applies to the product he/she is selling - a pattern. You cannot make copies of the pattern and give them away or sell them. He/she owns that. They do not own what you do with it. They get their money for a pattern, that's it. They don't get to tell you how to use their product. It's now yours to burn, sell or plaster it on the wall. It's yours to do with as you please - as long as you don't make copies of it to sell or give away.

Again, it's the paper that is copyrighted. The copyright does not extend to what you do with the copyrighted item.

bkay

Wow, I didn't know this was big deal. Thanks for the info.