quiltapillow

Iam not confussed. A copyright applies to the method in which the pattern is put together: ie-=10 min. quilt blocks. there is nothing new under the sun.====geometricly a block is a block and and triangle is a triangle. all has been copyrighted hundreds of years ago. so only the new fabric with the certain design can be copy righted. You people out there can fight and sue each other all you want but and that is a big but-----all kinds of extending type circumstances exist for a geometric design. See the Greeks in the 700's for designs. You print and sell a design it is yours you paid for it like buying a car or a piece of furniture, like the lady said Is my stove copyrighted????? can't sell it cause the lady across the street is selling her----------don't think so!..... Just check the method of putting the blks together as far as copyright goes. And that is mostlikely why I cannot find the fabric I like----they only make 1 copyright bolt and sell it and thats that.????

Dodie

after all of this copyright garbage I have decided I do not need any of their patterns books or magazines I have a big supply from the 1980's when the book writers and pattern makers were proud of their work and very pleased to see someone who liked them enough to buy the fabric to make them in those days I really respected those people but in this day and age and the greed I have lost my respect for them and if you really want to see some good patterns and magazine articles just check out some of those older ones this new stuff with their greed and selfishness cannot hold a candle to the quilters past

Berkie

I don't have a supply of anything as I just began sewing again a few years ago & was only strictly making parrot quilts. I learned the basics when I was around 10 years old by going to work with my Father, who worked for singer just about all his life until they started shutting their stores down but I am learning a lot from this board! (Note to self...pick up my Singer 301 at Mom's house!) I have never even considered looking online or in fabric stores for quilt patterns as there is just sooo much to see on here with the many people who do share their tips, hints, patterns & such.
10 years later, I learned how to make a trip around the world quilt from my x hubby's grandmother. 30 more years later, I resumed again, making the parrot quilts for fundraisers for a real nasty parrot disease that had killed many of my birds. It was therapy.
I have had many, many people write me & ask me if they could have a copy of the patterns & if there was any way I could copy them I gladly would but once I have drawn the bird & cut it out, I am left with as many as 10-12 little scraps of paper per bird! All of their pieces (well, most) are marked with color, but many are not. Once I am done with 1 bird pattern, I pin the pieces together with no identifying markings as to breed. The box I keep them in is just a jumble of paper with pins in it. Some are even very hard for me to remember how to put them back together once I cut them out again for another if there were many colors. It's easier for me to offer to tell them how I came up with the patterns, or if it is an official non-profit organization, I'll make one for them. I'm also doing some quilts for kids quilts, another thing I would have never known about had I not found this board. I guess sometimes it's best not to look any further than your own back yard, which is kinda what this board feels like with the many talented, helpful hands on here

marymay

What I do is change the pattern up a little bit. Then I can do what I want too. Sorry but I pay 10$ to 15$ a pattern I should be able to do what I want. So yes I am BAD!!!!!!!!!

Berkie

Just for giggles, (for those of you thinking "no one can be THAT messy!") a picture of my "pattern box" The one to the right has not been cut yet is a black headed caique that will be cut into 9 pieces plus 3 more pieces for the eye & feet.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]328077[/ATTACH]

BarbaraSue

This is splitting hairs. Brenda most certainly did loose. She could NOT keep the woman from selling the finished quilt, the product of the pattern purchased. The ONLY thing she could do was prevent use of the Name of the quilt.

So, her copyright did not prevent anyone from selling a quilt made from the pattern that was purchased because she cannnot control the outcome of the finished product of a purchased pattern. She could only say "you can't call it what I called it".
That is not winning the case when she wanted to control the finished product of a purchased pattern.

Whether you like taberone or not, her site gives the cases and results of those cases that the copyright.gov tolk about but does not explain very well.

Most of the these cases do not go to court because too many souls out there will not stand up for their rights. The designers get a lawyer to send a letter to intimidate the seller and threaten with suits and $$$ so the rightfully selling party backs off and allow the designer to continue believing that they can control everything they've thought of since sliced bread. The designers must have a Patent to do this, not a copyright. And, there is no copyright on intelligence, and creativity. That is pure gibberish, and enflated ego.

If more quilters would realize that copyright ande patent are not the same things, and stand firm on their right to make a quilt according to a pattern, and sell it, or give it away, the designers' power would wane.

Holice

another case related to stencils. The legal requirement for using a copyrighted stencil on a customers quilts required the stencil be purchased by or for the owner of the quilt. then it was his or her stencil that could be used on his or her quilt. Rather than do the right thing and build in the cost of the stencil and give it back to the quiltmaker.......qulters moaned and groaned about it and said it was not right........
If you take the pattern of my Avatar and make a quilt and display it for the world...it technically and legally is my design and not yours. Who should get the credit or at least the mention of credit.

NanaCsews2

Good question. As an example, how was Candlequilter able to copy the block from a quilt displayed on here, create the block in EQ7, call it the Candlequilter Star, then get it copyrighted? I am sure I am missing something here and I apologize for not reading every post on the Board to figure this copyright stuff out. Thanks for everyone giving us the heads-up on it.

LindaMRB

Some sites have lots of designs that are free. You have to read everything and I just opt for the old/non-copyrighted ones. In any case, I don't sell mine so have little to worry about right now.

Also, if you alter a quilt and they can identify the source, then you can be in trouble. You really have to alter it a lot.
From another quilter here:
"If your pattern came from somebody else's pattern you saw it is still theirs--is the way I understand it. The IDEA came from 'their hard work....' ..."

Also, you do not have to get a copyright # on an item/idea whatever if you don't want to. The question is ONLY if you want to argue it and you have to prove you did it first.
And if you do register it with the patent office, you have the jump on someone but still have to prove it in order to sue or get compensation.

I think it is nuts. There is very little NEW under the sun anyway. Not that I think anyone and everyone should take and not give credit where credit is due. It's just that if you publish a book of patterns, then let people name their source and then, IMHO, sell it and claim with materials and work they did and their interpretation of the pattern.

Right now a friend of mine is having trouble with folks who download her images (photography) and share and do not link back to her so she gets credit and eventually payment for any image used. She has a couple images on Getty images and someone there sued Getty for a photo within a photo that was copyrighted...

GramMER

I had a look at Bonnie Hunter's website and found she has a very sensible copyright statement. As I was reading other messages about copyright, I was surprised to see that some demand you cannot sell the product you produce with their free pattern. That is insane. There is one lady I know who has a daily mailing list and she sends quite a few cute pictures, music, and links to encourage everyone; however, she has a nasty copyright statement that says you better not forward anything from her message without including her name! She did not invent those things, she merely collects them from the www. The links belong to someone else, so how could she have a copyright at all?

Anyway, off my soap box now and want to send you a very friendly copyright statement from Bonnie:
*Note* You may print the patterns from this website for your own use! Feel free to share them with your friends. I encourage you to use the patterns to teach a class, make quilts to sell, to donate to charity and exhibit in your guild quilt shows! However, just because the patterns here are free for your use, does not mean you can use them with the intent to sell the patterns themselves. Please respect copyright policy and keep the pieceful spirit of quilting alive and well!