Another Copyright Perspective

[CherylUribe]

Recently a question was asked about copyright guidelines. I thought you all might be interested in this perspective from Ricky Tims. I liked his answer. Here it is:

Regarding Copyright - the ultimate answer is by asking the questions, "Am I doing anything that will take advantage of someone else's intellectual property?" - and, "Will I benefit from someone else's intellectual property?" or, "If I do this, will it take sales away from the holder of the copyrighted material?" If the answer is yes to any of these, then you are in violation of copyright.

Think about the hoards of creative individuals who make a living with their intellectual creations, offer them for sale, and gain income from sales or royalties. Anything you do that would take away a potential sale or royalty would be an infringement of copyright.

It you use a non-copyrighted traditional pattern, but set it in a unique way, then the setting of the design would be yours and you would have no obligation to anyone for your new design. If you choose to use some one's copyrighted block or creation, and then put your own spin on it, you would need to ask for permission before doing so. If you make a quilt (such as in the case of my Harmonic Convergence, where the overall effect is a Convergence Quilt. and the book has encouraged creativity), the courteous thing to do is to acknowledge the source on your entry forms and in publications. However, profiting from making and selling them is another can of worms. That becomes negotiable with the artist. I allow three Convergence quilts to be sold by one person each year. Any more than that and we would negotiate a licensing contract. However, that's my allowance, others can opt to forbid all profit from their pattern.

This does not exhaust the subject, but will help you when you are attempting to use something that you did not create yourself. - Ricky

[Stagecl]

Thanks Cheryl for sharing this important information. It is always good to hear other perspectives. It helps to reinforce the fine line between infringement and our own creativity.

Cheryl

[Myrna Ficken]

Thanks for posting this information Cheryl.

Myrna

[k8]

I struggle with copyrights almost daily. We also do commercial embroidery and digital transfers and the things people want!!! At least half of them I won't do - but "someone does", lol!

As far as quilting and quilting patterns, I almost cannot see that there is anything "new under the sun" as they say. Yes there is variance. I do a block with strips and cut it and sew it together another way - and is it mine or has someone, somewhere already done it?? I cut a couple or three fabrics in curves and sew them back together, cut that into strips and then intersperse with strips of another fabric... Is it mine or has someone already done that too????? Is it the WAY a book tells you to do the process that's copyrighted or is it the end result?? For instance - the quilt in a day series. (No I haven't checked to see what the copyright for that particular series says, so don't blast me - I'm using it as a reference only.) Is it the technique of strip sewing that is copyrighted or the log cabin (or any variety of other) quilt that results?? For that matter, all the books on speed cutting using rotary cutters/mats/techniques - does that mean if I use a rotary cutter and mat to do MY version of a quilt with their way of cutting it's copyrighted. OK, now I'm digressing and being downright silly, but you get the point.l

And the questions go on and on! A quilter has been doing feathers for years - develops his/her own style of doing so... Someone publishes a book and THEIR version is very similar to quilter #1. Does that mean it now belongs to someone else and poor #1 can no longer do what's been done for years? Should the owners/copyright holder of spirograph own all the patterns that are done on any variety of quilting aids such as circle lord or hartley... Where does one finally get the definitive answer?

If I put 12 kids in a room - give them squares/triangles and a gridwork on which to place them... Out of 100 grids, how many will come up with something that's pre-existing? Quite a few, I'll bet.

Just food for thought.

[CucumberQuilting]

Thanks, Cheryll for sharing this with us.

This subject comes up at guild meetings all the time. The discussions and the opinions run from the ridicuolus to the absurd. I'm always trying to give a reasonable explanation for copyright use but you did it very well here.

May I have persmission to print and share your thoughts on this? Thanks! ~~ Eva H.

[ffq-lar]

I will step upon this slippery slope with a completely non-professional perspective--lawyers get rich sueing people and copyright law is enforced case-by-case usually.

If you print instructions for a rail fence top with borders and include a quilting design, no one may COPY your instructions to share or sell. You do not own the rail fence design nor the loops and stars design for the quilting unless you have figured a way to make then unique from every other loops and stars design---because those are really in the public domain. You own the exact words you used in the exact order but you would have to prove you were the first and they were copied exactly or close enough to be recognizable as uniquely yours. (Proving this keeps lawyers in business!)

A new technique, combination of designs, applique patterns, specific instructions, the things that make your work UNIQUE are your property.

As far as making and selling finished products, I will stay away from that quagmire!

Just my semi-educated two cents. I only employed logic here which many times is different from the law!

Linda R

[quiltmonkey]

I am still learning about copyright, and I very much want to respect what it stands for. From what I understand in my research and questions, if it is easily recognizable as someone else's design or work, then you are violating copyright. It's the end product (written or recorded format--it doesn't have to be on paper, the end product could be made of fabric) that is copyright protected (the quilt pattern, the design, the instructions, the book, the video, the DVD, the program or design downloaded from a web site). It has to be tangible. An idea or a concept floating around in your head can?t be copyrighted. Here?s another way of looking at it: Using a rotary cutter and mat to cut fabric to make a block and sew it together is not copyright protected, but the written instructions on how to use your rotary cutter and mat and the instructions on how to sew your block together are copyright protected. Using inspiration and freedom of expression by quilting your own feather on a quilt is not copyright protected, but the written pattern or instructions of that feather design is protected.

If you took a photo copy or copied exactly what someone else designed and pasted that into your own written format or pattern, that is a violation. But, if you were inspired by someone?s design and used your creativity to make your own design on that (without it looking like the original design or being recognizable to the original) then you are not in violation. There are a million ways to draw a flower. Lot?s of people have designed flowers in their patterns using inspiration from nature and other people. As long as it?s your flower and you drew it using your own creativity, you designed it, then you are not violating copyright.

If you look closely and read the fine print on quilt patterns and books, it usually tells you what is permissible (e.g. for personal use only, may not be used for mass production or commercial use, may be reduced or enlarged for longarm businesses, may be shared with guilds as long as you recognize the source/author, etc.). Many quilt blocks, (and even some patterns and designs) have fallen into the public domain category and are OK to use without violating copyright protection. If you're not sure about public domain, it's best to contact the publisher or author and ask first.

Many people are inspired by someone else?s design or pattern. Many people are inspired by nature, too. If you were inspired by something in nature or by someone else?s design, and then created your own style from that (not duplicated it to look similar or recognizable to the original), then you are not violating copyright. The written or recorded process or end product is copyrighted. The non-tangible process of creating it is not copyrighted.

I guess the simple answer and the bottom line for me are the words ?respect and consideration? for the work or design that is created, especially if your intentions are to make a profit from it. That is main thing: $money$. If you ask yourself the simple questions you usually get the answers yourself. If you don?t know the answer, call or email the person and ask for permission to use their design...or more importantly, tell them you were inspired by their design and created your own design from that. Maybe even share your design with the person who inspired you? That would be cool, I think. Be nice, be fair, be respectful to others. With all that I said, even if I had permission to use someone?s design (or even if I were inspired by someone?s design and created my own thing from there), I would try to be respectful and recognize the source of the design or the source of my inspiration on my label or quilt or design/instructions. I think it is so cool to recognize our peers for the inspiration they give us. Don't you?

I am going to add to Linda Rech's advice and agree with her about the selling (for profit) finished products "quagmire" -- Personally, from all that I've learned about copyright infringment, the end lesson for me is: Me (Shana) to avoid getting into that quagmire, I am now designing my own things where I want to sell any end products for profit--(for example, to avoid this, I started creating my own --extremely simple-- patterns so I can make a few small wallhangings with Alaskan animals in them to sell to tourists who visit here.) In doing this, I avoid any sticky mess with violating copyright, getting sued, (in other words, making my fellow quilters mad at me--I don't want to do that) and more importantly I don't want to undermine those who are part of this wonderful quilting industry...I want to respect and support my fellow artitists and quilt designers and their profits to their own designs.

It's a big world out there with plenty room for our ideas and creativity and many people with lots of $$ to spend, and all of us deserve our own little piece of the pie as long as we use our own creativity to make the pie ourselves we can share it with anyone and everyone who wants a bite of it.

That?s my long-winded version. Sorry for yammering on and on here...that was a little more info than you probably ever wanted to know...(((yawn))) sorry! No more coffee for me today...

I hope that helps.