copyright selling dear jane quilt top

copyright covers the original and any derivative. If
your quilt looks like a quilt made from my published designs then it is a
derivative.

I have thought about this a bunch, and in general, I'm confused.

For example:
I am about to finish a baby quilt. The pattern was a double pinwheel.
How do I know if this is copywrited? By who? At what point does a
pattern become general use? There are lots of pinwheel patterns in
books.. If I lay it out the same way as any of them, did I violate a
copywrite? How do I learn which patterns are copywriter? Log cabin?
What if I see a boarder or a quilt, and take the concept - triangles and
squares, and re-design it with changes?

I have more questions, but the above I think covers my confusion on the
topic.

This is related to, am I never allowed to sell a quilt b/c I have no
idea if I saw it once somewhere and am now using ideas from it...

Thanks,
NS

Thanks for all your thoughtful comments.

Best,
NS


BRBR
Ok, let me see if I can ease your pain and confusion with a bit of plain talk.
There are many patterns that have come down through the ages that are in
general use. Barbara Brackman's book of blocks is a wonderful resource of block
designs and their source.
When you set out to make a quilt, you either come up with on your own or you
are making it from a pattern or picture. If you come up with it on your own,
then you are have created the quilt design. You also could rely upon readily
common use blocks such as log cabin, shoo fly, pin wheel etc. There is
absolutely no way to know if someone else came up the same or similar design in
the past or will in the future so it is not an issue that would be definitive.

However, let say you make a complex quilt that looks exactly like a published
design except for say, color or size. The copyright holder could assume that
you made your quilt from her published design. If you did not, simply state
that you did not. End of story and you can go on your way with your quilt.

If you did but just changed a few things and it still looks essentially like
the published design then you made a derivative of the published design. If the
design you purchased stated for personal use only and you wanted to sell it,
simply ask for permission to do so.

Let me give you an example of one of the very few times I have ever addressed
the copyright issue of my designs. Many years ago, I made a quilt called
Comical Country. This quilt was chosen from a field of 1,000 quilts to be in
Great American Quilts. It was a medallion style quilt with a barn, sheep,
bunnies, apples, flowers, cows, ducks and trees. We published the pattern in a
national magazine, booklet and in Great American Quilts.
There was a crochet magazine that ran a contest for afghan designs. One of the
winners was a replica of my quilt. The afghan used the exact setting, all the
objects and colors that I used in my quilt. This quilt had been in several
national quilt magazines and books so the image was readily available to the
public. I resented the fact that the winner not only never mentioned the source
of the design but claimed it as her original design and also won a contest
beating out others who did submit their original work. I wrote the editor of
the magazine and included pictures of my quilt. I never heard from the magazine
or the winner and that was fine. I just didn't want the winner to have unfair
advantage and not play fair. Now, what do you think the odds are that the maker
of the afghan came up with such a complex setting, color, style and objects on
her own?

NS, the bottom line is just play fair, give credit where credit is due and
don't sweat the small stuff. Most of us quilters are pretty reasonable people
and we really are fun to play with.

All the best,
Carol Doak

http://quilt.com/CDoak

Great answer, Carol!

In a twist on this discussion, I had a really difficult time convincing my
publisher that I WANTED to allow photocopying of my book under certain
circumstances. Totally goes against the grain for craft books, though it's
often done for curriculum materials. Since I want my book to be used in
women's ministry in churches and by missionaries, the copyright notice says
"may be reproduced for use in a local church..."

No doubt someone somewhere is ignoring my notice anyway: there's one woman
on the internet who has posted a picture of a quilt made from my patterns as
an example of her original DESIGN service! She claims that, because she used
different colours from the original, she designed the quilt. Not worth
pursuing her [okay, I admit, I'd be more upset if her colour choices weren't
downright homely!]

As for making a living from my copyrighted material? I'm figuring that
sometime in the next decade, I might break even [but only if I stop buying
fabrics for samples!]

--
Kim Graham
http://members.shaw.ca/kigraham
Nanaimo, BC, Canada
THE WORD IN PATCHWORK


"Carol Doak" wrote in message
...

Hi Julia:
Houston, we have a problem. Julia, when the teacher copies and distributes
these copies, she has violated the copyright of the book and has infringed
on
the exclusive rights of the publisher. When I sign a publishing agreement,
I
give the publisher exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the work.
When
the teacher copies the pages of the book, she is infringing on their
exclusive
rights and they have a right to address that issue with the teacher. If
the
shop owner is aware of this situation and permits it, they are not only
being
poor business people because they are in the busines of selling books, but
they
are knowingly permitting an illegal activity in their shop.
Many years ago when I taught frequent classes a local quilt shop, there
was a
large sign on the top of their copy machine that stated, "If you copy any
published material on this machine, you are fired!"
I think the shop owner took a definite stand on this issue and there was
no
doubt about the fact that they would not tolerate such activity.
If I were a student in that class, morally I would feel compelled to
publicly
announce that distribution of copyrighted material without permission is
illegal.
The reason publishers need this type of protection is logical because if
their
product can be reproduced and distributed by others, they would not be
able to
stay in the business of publishing and if they can't afford to publish
then I
can't afford to create and design.
All the best,
Carol Doak
http://quilt.com/CDoak

I understand that and apparently some don't , as you can see by the postings
some think
that it is their artistic property to use as they will . Mary

"Pat in Virginia" wrote in message
newsBWRc.2220$73.1374@lakeread04...
Mary: I would think that *anyone* who goes to the trouble, time,
and expense of writing a book or publishing patterns would also
consider it a business, not 'a little hobby.' Do you know people
who do this for a little hobby?
PAT, who also appreciates Carol's input on the topic

MB wrote:
Hi Carol...Thanks for the clear answers ! I figured that you must have
had
restrictions concerning your patterns, as I know you have a lot of hard
work
in producing them and , after all, you are in business and it isn't just
a 'little hobby' for you. Mary in VT


" Hi Mary:

Since you asked the question....It states in my books that the purchaser

may

reproduce the designs for personal use and not for commerical purposes.
However, over the past dozen years I have been contacted many times

requesting

permission to use my designs for raffle quilts and limited sales such as

craft

fairs etc. and I have always given permission for these types of

commerical

uses. I only ask that the source of the design used is stated and that
it

is

being used with permission. Many times I have seen quild raffle quilts

using my

designs where permission was not requested and I do nothing because I

would

have given them permission if they had asked anyway.
The "personal use" statement protects my publisher and myself from a
large
business using the designs that I created to make products that I would

not

approve of or flooding the market of discount houses with large numbers
of
quilts made in China using my designs.
I am sure that quilters understand that the effort and funds that a

designer

and a publisher put into producing a book has to be protected by
copyright

laws

otherwise there would be no books produced.
However, the current discussion about the Dear Jane quilt top is not
about
copyright, it is about a trademark issue. The ebay seller of the quilt

used the

registered trademark "Dear Jane" and the owner of the trademark is the

only one

who can use it unless she gives that right to another.
Although this issue has created quite a bit of discussion, it is
important

to

keep things in perspective and if in doubt, just ask.
All the best,
Carol Doak
http://quilt.com/CDoak

Natalie wrote:

This section was interesting to me b/c it is a constant battle in
schools...

I've had professors copy material for us to read, and then return it b/c
it was copywrited.

I've had professors read 5 page articles out loud in class...

On professors compliant was that it is very hard to keep up with recent
events and obey copy write stuff b/c it can take a very long time for
academic publishers to reply on the subject...

All kinds of stuff.

Most publishers will allow personal copies for the interest of
education. They will also allow quotes for inclusion into academic work
or into reviews.

Most of my college professors photocopied the text, then put that copy
in the library "on hold"- so you would have to request it from the desk,
read it, and give it back. They would also do this with out-of-print
books if they had the book.

I'm not sure what the law is. I have taught informal classes on the
history of plumbing where I photocopied pictures in books and shared
these with my class, because it was easier than showing them all of the
books proper. I gave them all my bibliography. I think if I did charge
them for photocopies of the pictures from books that I'd be in
violation, even if I was not making a profit. Although the items
pictured are well out their copywright, the photographs *aren't*. The
few pictures I have of garderobes that I have seen- I can distribute
those as I wish.

-georg

Most of my college professors photocopied the text, then put that copy
in the library "on hold"- so you would have to request it from the desk,
read it, and give it back. They would also do this with out-of-print
books if they had the book.


When I worked in the Reserves section of Circulation at Florida State
University, the professors were allowed to place articles on reserve
for one semester without copyright approval. If they wanted to use it
for another semester even if they skipped one, they had to fill out a
request for copyright approval and have it to us before the semester
started or the articles in question were removed. Same applied for
electronic reserves.

Ginny in Tallahassee where we are waiting for Tropical Storm Bonnie.

Natalie,

The University I attend (Concordia in Mtl) has solved that problem by using
the svc of a company that takes care of the copyright stuff and royalties
are paid accordingly (stated on the cover of the crse package). As Carol
stated, one has to "wake up to one's self in the morning". Well put Carol.

Carole (Champlain, NY)
Who is finding this thread quite interesting

"Natalie" wrote in message
...
This section was interesting to me b/c it is a constant battle in
schools...

I've had professors copy material for us to read, and then return it b/c
it was copywrited.

I've had professors read 5 page articles out loud in class...

On professors compliant was that it is very hard to keep up with recent
events and obey copy write stuff b/c it can take a very long time for
academic publishers to reply on the subject...

All kinds of stuff.

Thanks for all your informed comments.

Best,
NS

"Taria" wrote in message
...
I paid for the book too. I have a lot of historical quilt books
that I enjoy. The DJ one will probably go to the guild raffle table
next month. I just have a bad taste for the whole thing now.
I have recreated old quilts but I would never take on the ownership she
has. Just a different opinion than yours Sandy. Legally she is in the
right but I still think the whole thing is tacky.
Taria




I'm still not entirely sure she's in the right legally. From what I
understand (and I have to tell you I don't find the Dear Jane type quilts
attractive) this Brenda person made up templates or a book or both and sold
the templates and/or book to make this quilt. As far as I am concerned that
is it. The purpose of templates and pattern books is TO MAKE QUILTS. She
was paid for the templates and/or books, so she was compensated for her
labor. End of story. Disney and other companies tried to stop people from
selling items made with their licensed fabrics. A company called Tabberone
took them on in Federal Court. Federal Court said Disney (and Nascar and
Warner Bros) couldn't tell people what to do with their fabric. Once
Disney etc. put their fabric into the "stream of commerce" they no longer
have control over what happens to it. They have been paid. The purpose of
fabric is to make things. Once the things are made, they belong to the
people who made the things, not the people who made the fabric. They can be
given away, they can be sold. They can be sold by people they are given
to.

Iris

On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 17:05:51 GMT, Taria
wrote:

The way she represents it the 12% sort of seems like ransom.
She will take the amount not to sue I guess. I understand
the need to protect your work but the whole thing makes the author
look pretty cheap to me. I would look at it different if she herself
had made the original quilt. Yeah she put a lot of time into the
research but I bet dollars to donuts she makes a bunch at shows and
lectures and classes.
Taria

I for one, will NEVER buy any of her books.

I am right with you on this.

--
Sugar & Spice Quilts by Linda E
http://community.webshots.com/user/frame242