NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USE printed on selvage of fabric?
 

I received a query from a CA friend asking if I had seen anything on this board about "NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USE" being printed on the selvage of fabric. Then when it is used in a quilt and the quilt is sold, the designers of the fabric are suing the quilters!! This is the first I have heard anything like this at all. Have any of you seen this or heard of it??

Yes, I have seen and in fact I do have one fabric that says that on the selvage.
Some designers are very protective of their designs.

Seems like everyone needs a piece of the "pie" even though it fringes on the line of ridiculous!! JMO.

If all the designers start doing that how do you buy fabric for use in a business?

There was a seller on ebay that was sued for this same thing, selling items made from licensed fabrics, the sellers won because the fabric was made to be used and after it was sold it was fair game. However, now they put that on the selvage to protect the designers, so haven't heard anymore about it. We should investigate and see what is going on with this now. When "we" have some time.:) I would think they would be happy to let people make things from their fabric designs and sell it, it doesn't make sense to me because you are not making their fabric or trying to copy their fabric design.

I think you will find that phrase on licensed fabrics (cartoons, sports teams, colleges, etc), not fabrics by 'regular' designers. Licensed things have different laws that apply to them (no matter what Tabberone claims). It is not the designers that sue, it is the corporations who hold the license.

i sell all my work and i'm very careful about this issue. 99% of the time i work with fabric i made myself to avoid any issues.

The legal owners of the Characters/Logos/etc get paid for the use of their images on the fabric.
Since they have already been paid a royalty, I do not understand how they think they can control how the fabric is used. :) :) :)

i just think that this legal stuff is getting ridiculous. I mean come on. Lets all take a breath before calling for a suit to be filed. those that sell make sure that you read your selvages now.

Licanse required
 

The 'big guys ie: Disney, NFL, etc' don't want you to make money off of things with their 'picture' on it that they could make themselves. You see a stuffed bear with a t-shirt with an emblem of mickey mouse on it and you think, 'oh, that's cute! I could make some just like it, but I know that with the Giants on it that would sell better.' Well, that is where you are taking away money from Disney and 'infringing' on their product. You don't even have to get the idea that way, but it is still 'infringing' on their profits..... That is why they are putting that statement on the edge of their fabric. As a person that sells items I have avoided making things with any of the 'licensed' items. I can't afford to pay for a lawyer and I have also found that most people aren't buying that type of stuff in what I sell. I do make stuff for family and friends with this type of fabric when it is a gift. BUT other than that if it has that warning on the edge I by pass it. If we don't buy it in the first place they don't get any money and may re-think their greediness and give us little guys a break :). This is just my opinion and I say it only about myself.....