patent question?
 

I seen this quilt that was on the internet, and I just fell in love with it..I would love to try and make some of them, so if they have a patent pending does this mean you can't try and copy the quilt pattern, I'm sure that I won't be able to copy it exactly the same as hers but it would be the same idea, and I didn't know if it would be ok to do this

she makes them and sells them on Esty..She did say that the quilt pattern was not for sale and there was a patent pending so what are your thoughts on this, will the quilt police come after me if I try and copy her idea making a quilt with the same idea as hers but not the exactly as her pattern?.

with a patent on something and you try to made it, does it have to be exactly the same as the pattern to get you in trouble, with the quilt police? Thanks Ladies

If you're not planning on selling it, I don't believe it's issue.

I agree with MaryKatherine. As long as you aren't selling it, there shouldn't be a problem. I've made things for myself using copyrighted images (Harley Davidson, Disney) and the copyright police didnt' come and get me.

Yep, just don't copy hers exactly and sell them.

You can always make a quilt you saw somewhere and managed to copy on your own. For your own use.
The consensus seems to be:
It can't be sold or be entered into a show where it will be judged for a prize.
You could enter a show where it is NOT judged for a prize or being offered for sale IF you have given credit to the name of the pattern AND the original designer.

Jan in VA

If the design is original, it is copyright protected and you should not copy it. However, most quilt designs are not original. In most cases (but not all) the copyright applies to the pattern instructions and illustrations, not to the quilt design itself. If the quilt is made up of blocks in the public domain (and most blocks are), you can copy the quilt without any problem. An applique design is more likely to be original and protected by copyright. Patents don't apply to quilt patterns.

Cashs mom - the copyright police may not have shown up - yet - but Disney is very serious about prosecuting people who copy their images. That is their intellectual property, and they make serious money from it, so they protect it.

Whether you change something a little, or whether you sell it, or whether you show it, has no bearing on whether you're copying someone else's work without permission. You will probably never be caught, but you will still be cheating. Even if you purchase a pattern, you still technically need the copyright holder's permission to show a quilt made from that pattern in a show. (Permission is almost always given.)

[QUOTE=dunster;7418331]If the design is original, it is copyright protected and you should not copy it. However, most quilt designs are not original. In most cases (but not all) the copyright applies to the pattern instructions and illustrations, not to the quilt design itself. If the quilt is made up of blocks in the public domain (and most blocks are), you can copy the quilt without any problem. An applique design is more likely to be original and protected by copyright. Patents don't apply to quilt patterns.




If you make the quilt with the same ideas but don't make it exactly the same as hers, like maybe change the figures to say a baby doll, a dog or a cat , when she used a little girl, you wouldn't be making the quilt the same as hers just the same idea, would this still be infringing on her copyrights.

I would really like to make a few of these quilts to donate to our hospital or some other place that I think would benefit some little person that is in need.. If this is a problem I will just look for some other quilt to make or maybe come up with my own idea for a little persons quilt...It was just such a cute quilt, and great idea for a little persons quilt.. oh well thanks ao much for all of your help.

Mary Fons told me in a video that what you can do, is give the person credit for the pattern she/he/they came out with. In a lable you can say, the quilt is by you, but also put, the pattern is my so and so. This way you won't be stepping on anyone's one toes. I do this with my patterns. Plus, it adds more value and adds to the story of the quilt as with every quilt, there is a story. I did this with my 3 dudes quilt, although I just put my intitals and the year I made the quilt. I told the person I was giving it to where the pattern came from. I hope this answer helps ya.

So many patterns I have seen being sold are not original. Most of my quilts I make are for charity so I don't worry about putting a design layout into EQ and adding my own bit of originality to the quilt. I made quilts from a store who published numerous quilting books and actually sold my quilts at fairs that were held at their store and they never complained. They actually asked if they could photograph my quilts for their books and I of course said yes.

No one is going to come after you for making one quilt.

Simply put, yes, that's still copyright infringement. You said it yourself...it's her idea. Changing the figures would only make yours a derivative work and that's copyright infringement. Just because you probably won't get caught doesn't make it alright, but that decision is yours alone.

If she said patent pending then that's very odd unless she created a new way to manufacture fabric. I have EQ7 and it's easy to import quilt pictures and then use the trace feature to outline a block, then convert that to a pieced block. I give myself credit making the quilt and credit to the designer for the pattern design if anyone ever asked. Rarely they ever do. No one really cares. Any quilter interested will say where can I get the pattern for that. I say I went by a picture I saw of the quilt and tell them where to find that.

The Difference Between Copyright and Patent. Patents refer to an invention, whereas copyrights refer to the expression of an idea, such as an artistic work. They are governed by different rules, so it is important to know which is applicable to your works.
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I doubt she is getting a patent, a quilt is a quilt.

Making a quilt from a pattern and selling the quilt is 100% NOT copyright infringement. Duplicating/Selling the pattern as your own is copyright infringement. There is absolutely nothing in copyright law that grants this authority to the copyright owner to limit what can be done with the end product made from a copyrighted pattern. Or so says the Supreme Court.
The whole point of the first sale doctrine is that once the copyright owner places a copyrighted item in the stream of commerce by selling it, he has exhausted his exclusive statutory right to control its distribution.
Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. Lanza Research Int, 523 U.S. 135 (1998).

And as someone else pointed out a copyright and a patent are 2 different things. There is also difference between something having copyright protection and actually being copyrighted. The copyright protection is automatic while copyrighted requires the pattern be registered with the US Copyright Office.

If you design, copyright, and sell a quilt pattern you have every legal right to prevent someone from duplicating and selling the pattern as their own. You have zero legal recourse if someone makes 1,000 quilts from your pattern and sells the quilts. Even if the pattern itself says you cannot do such, it is not enforceable by law.

PATENT refers to an INVENTION!
COPYRIGHT refers to something published, such as a pattern or quilt design!
You are not infringing on a copyright if your design is only inspired by or imitating another's design of which you have seen a picture. No way could your design be exactly the same as hers unless you bought her pattern and copied it.

Thanks Quilting Cat, all it said was patten pending, and that she didn't have a pattern for sale, so I guess she hasn't made a pattern to sell yet.. I didn't know the different in copyright and patent, thanks for the information on this, I'll have to think on this, if I still want to make some for our hospital, also thanks for letting me know about making a quilt that was inspired by someone else and to couldn't be the same in less you copied the pattern..

also thank everyone for your input on this..

Just because a pattern is for sale, you are not required to purchase one. I make lots of quilts/bags just by looking at one already made. I buy a pattern if I need written instructions.

Nothing is copyrighted until you actually go and have it copyrighted. There is a procedure similar to patenting.

If you aren't selling a product for profit there is no way they can legally keep you from copying it for your own use. I know Disney is rampant about protecting their images, but if they are not used to make money there isn't much they can do about someone using them. Images are on the internet. If you print one out and stick it on the wall, Disney can't sue you for that. They can only sue you if you use the image for advertising or profit.

Actually, this is not at all true. Copyright is implied and automatic (I have a photography background and am fairly familiar with this topic). You can, of you want to, register your copyrighted works, but it is absolutely not necessary. However, doing so will make it easier to prove ownership in the event of any need to take legal action against someone for infringing on your copyright. Here is a nice simple write-up on copyright.

Trademarks and patents do need to be registered, which is quite a long involved and very expensive process. Like others have said, it is unlikely someone could patent a quilt unless there was something about the structure or material that was unique. A quilt could include trademarked images like Disney, NFL logos, etc. which could make it illegal to profit from their sale. but what is copyrighted for a quilt pattern is only the written instructions and pictures.

I'm curious why it is "cheating". Most things out there aren't even very original, with the exception of someone like Judy Niemeyer and quilters who do applique where actual drawing ability is involved.

But cheating?

And as to why you have to have permission to show a quilt in a show--that's one I simply don't understand. If someone doesn't want you to make their quilt pattern and "show it off", whether informally or formally, I simply don't understand why they make a pattern. And I don't understand why the copyright extends to the quilt in that case and doesn't stop with the pattern ("first sale" doctrine). I guess the industry is being 'hypervigilant"

I know that some say that the quilt IS the pattern--but unless it is unique--...........truly unique--so probably nothing made up of triangles and squares and rectangles...they've been around a long, long time. Applique, yes...

As to the OP's question...is the quilt truly unique? IOW, is it really the designer's "original" work?

I've seen stuff attributed to a person nowadays and then looked at older magazines (90's) and seen the same pattern in it--and no attribution by the person that it isn't really original.

How can you patent a quilt or a pattern? Patents are for inventions. Copyrights refer to artistic work. If she said she has applied for a patent on a quilt I'd doubt it

had to verify my understanding of "patent" - this refers to inventions, not pattern designs. She would need to copyright it.

I was told by a quilting teacher that if you change the pattern 30% from the original, you are the "new" owner of the pattern. So, if you make enough changes, there's no problem. Examples -- block size bigger or smaller, sashing size different, borders different, etc.

hope this eases your concerns.

Patent? She doesn't know what she is saying, and has no intention of "patenting" her design. The cost to patent a product or process via manufacturing is extremely high..... $100,000 plus.....sometimes much more.....she was threatening. I would give her credit if you make a copy...as long as you are not selling the printed instructions, you are fine. If she patents her quilting process, we are all in trouble. Actually, she would have to prove no one else before her had ever used the quilt making process.

This idea of there being a certain amount of alteration that makes it 'yours' is incorrect. It's one of the big myths about copyright law and one of the most often repeated by quilters (#6 in the link below).

If the design is still recognizedable as someone else's, it's a derivative work and is in copyright violation. The courts intentionally set no limit of how much change makes it 'safe', leaving it as a case by case decision.
http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html

ETA: Techniques, how one does something, cannot be copyrighted or patented. The tools, yes, the instructions, yes, but not the actual actions.