The thing is, it's showing up on fabrics that are NOT licensed images at all (like polka dots and florals), just plain ol' ordinary copyrighted fabric designs. Most of us are okay with limits, perceived or actual, on licensed designs, but when someone says you can't sell a quilt made with a red and white polka dot that has 'not for commercial use' on the selvage (and no mention of licensed anything anywhere), that's just plain absurd so why print it at all.

The contract between the designer and the manufacturer spells out what is printed on the selvedge. So it's really a restriction on the manufacturer as to what markets the manufacturer can sell into.

The ones that bug me are the ones that say "Use beyond individual consumption requires a license." That's also dictated by the designer/licensor, but is very misleading to the end consumer, upon whom there is actually no restriction as to how they can use it, up to and including making it up and selling it publicly.

My point is that printing something on the selvage has no legal standing whatsoever, so why put it there when it will only annoy the end user?

Probably to discourage the manufacturer from selling it into unauthorized situations. Say I license an image to you for making fabrics, with the express condition that you not sell it to anyone that is intending on manufacturing items made from it. I also require you to put a "not for manufacture" type warning on the selvedge.

You manufacture it, then contrary to the agreement, sell a thousand bolts to a sweat shop, who then makes a million articles of clothing bearing my licensed image and looking like authorized products. They show up at Wal-mart and it's clearly an unauthorized product pretending to be an authorized, licensed product.

I get the government to go in and raid the sweatshop. With the warning on the selvedge, I have a lot better chance at proving that you, the manufacturer, or one of your authorized distributors broke the terms of the agreement.

In that case, it would in fact have legal standing. However if you, the manufacturer sell it to a retailer, which is authorized under our agreement, I lose control at that point of anything that's done with the product bearing my copyrighted or licensed images.

You're right, it has no legal standing in the retail user context, but it may very well have legal standing in the wholesale/manufacturing context.

I agree, it would be a lot smarter for them to clarify this rather than to leave it up in the air.

But it's put on there either by dictate from the designer, or by the manufacturer trying to cover their own behinds. Just more living proof that there are too many lawyers... :-)

Thank you for setting the record straight!

Many of us are stlll uncomfortable with the "warnings" on the selvage. Frankly I personally will not buy fabric with such selvage messages because it is unpleasant, threatening and the final word is not consistent. If enough fabric buyers didn't buy fabric with that printed on it we might see an end to the threatening or limiting selvage notes. I don't buy at stores who are known to be unfair to their employees, sell sweatshop items, or buy from sources who have lack of quality control related issues repeatdly. I am simply adding "limiting selvage messages" to my list.