i think that for the most part it boils down to good manners and common sense.

anybody, who is offended by the fact that somebody else likes their quilt so much they want to make one of their own is an idiot. :roll:

however, if they're convinced it's their own original copyrightable design and don't want others to copy it without permission or payment they should politely include that information in the picture post.

and if you like somebody else's quilt and want to make one of your own but don't know for sure whether or not it's from the public domain the polite thing to do is to ask.

(and just between us ... if the quilt is made using blocks from the public domain they can't say no. the most they can do to "stop" you is to insist you track down the blocks and instructions yourself. :lol: :wink: )

I thought if we used someone else's idea or pattern we had to acknowledge them

[quote=PatriceJ
anybody, who is offended by the fact that somebody else likes their quilt so much they want to make one of their own is an idiot. :roll:

[/quote]

My thoughts exactly Patrice - imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! :D

K x

naturally i agree with myself. :lol:

the central question here, though, is whether or not we can legally:

-use somebody else's design without paying for the pattern; or
-copy something somebody else made and then claim it as our own.

ask 5 lawyers about any specific situation and you'll get at least 57 opinions.

the first thing to do is to "read up" on copyright law and issues. the information is easy to find on the internet.

in addition to considering the law, employ ethics. if you don't admit you got the idea somewhere else, aren't you implying it was your own idea? is that ethically right? how would you feel in the other quilter's shoes?

if somebody made a quilt like it after seeing my Chisholm Plaits and didn't mention they'd been inspired by my use of those blocks, could i sue them for a copyright violation? NO ... because every element of that layout came from the public domain. i just happen to have realized they worked well together.

if somebody made a quilt like it after seeing my Chisholm Plaits and didn't mention they'd been inspired by my use of those blocks, would i be seriously ticked off? you bet

I belong to a lot of crochet boards and the subject of copyrights comes up a lot. If you use someone's pattern and post a pic of it somewhere the designer would appreciate their name being credited for the pattern. They don't appreciate their patterns being placed on the boards without permission either. Most designers will let you use their patterns on a forum if you ask permission.
Darlene

Here is an example of when I have a problem.This is a wall hanging I did for the Spaniel Club National when I did the logo for the event. It was on the trophy table and later the memorabilia table.

The pattern is a Double Irish Chain-a pattern in the public domain. So no problem to see it reproduced BUT the centers are my original art work from the logo drawn by me and printed to fabric. I cannot tell you how often I saw that drawing reproduced and used without any credit or asking if they could use it. Not only is that copyright infringement BUT it seriously made me angry.

Mostly I have no problem sharing. Every once in awhile I do something that I would like to have as a one of a kind piece and those I don't post anywhere. Just makes sense to me to handle it that way.

Wow! Lots of discussion.. GREAT! Thanks for all your comments! The quilt in question was stated by maker as a pattern she bot in a soon to be going out of business shop somewhere USA. The date on her post was 2006. She did include the website but after 3 years - it was no longer there. Oh well! It was a beautiful quilt. All is not lost! I'll just design my own....

Just do a search of the quilt name if you have it. It should come up with the pattern available somewhere.

Tried that. nothing even CLOSE! SIGH!!!

Really? Hmm...which one is it may one of us can help.