What are the legal ramifications for selling items made from copyrighted patterns?
I’m a bit confused about how the copyright for a pattern affects the item made from it because clearly the people at craft shows and such aren’t making up their own patterns.
I’ve also been told that if you change the copyrighted pattern by even one stitch (I work a lot with crochet) that it makes it your own and you can do what you want with it.
A particular example I am curious about is a pattern I found that states on the bottom for personal use only do not sell but does not actually have a copyright. The author of the pattern explained in a comment that ‘they would have to settle on a price that everyone would charge for them so it was fair’ and that just seems odd to me because cost of materials and amount of time to be compensated for will vary so can they really set a standard price.
I want to be legal and all that but I’m trying to make some extra money selling things I crochet…
Suggested Reading:
Quilt pattern - Yo-Yo FlagsSmall wall quilt from strips, squares, and Yo-Yos. Approximate size = 24" x 24". Fabric requirements = 5 fat quarters. Easy to follow directions with ... Read More >
Related Posts
The best way to understand exactly what is and is not allowed and what the legal ramifications are is to contact an Intellectual Property Attorney.
I do know however, that you would need to change a lot more than one stitch to make something your own. This seems to be a common misconception.
Another misconception is that “design” and “pattern” are the same thing. For example: Several designers are asked (unbeknownst to each other) to design and write a pattern for a simple scarf. Chances are that more than a couple of those scarves will be very similar just due to the nature of the item. Each one of those designers owns the copyright to their written pattern, but not the shape or basic design of the scarf as most scarves are similar in shape and design.
I also know that the author of the pattern is inherently the owner of the copyright unless they sell or otherwise reassign the rights to someone else. The copyright symbol does not need to be displayed, it is automatically assumed.
For example: You own the copyright to the question you asked. You didn’t mark it with a copyright notation such as: (C) 2010 (or similar), but it is still your property. Someone else may ask the same question, but they would need to re-write it into their own words. To copy and paste it here or anywhere else in any form without your permission would be a violation of copyright.
The legal penalties for copyright infringement are:
1. Infringer pays the actual dollar amount of damages and profits.
2. The law provides a range from $200 to $150,000 for each work infringed.
3. Infringer pays for all attorneys fees and court costs.
4. The Court can issue an injunction to stop the infringing acts.
5. The Court can impound the illegal works.
6. The infringer can go to jail.
And as already stated, the design must be more than one stitch off.
I was part of a case where a “lips and tongue” design was used.
I did not look like the typical “Rolling Stones” logo as shown here http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.149080237.jpg But it was close enough that the average person thought about the Rolling Stones when viewing the logo. The court made the designer quit using the logo they had come up with. Since it was not a real close copy, the court considered that there was no forethought to cause damages to the copyrighted logo. So the only “punishment” was that they had to come up with a different logo.
If you are looking at a design & it makes you think that it could be a well known, copyrighted design, that should be enough to cause you to investigate further to check if it is copyrighted or to avoid it’s use at all. No sense on drawing big trouble to yourself over something as small as making extra money.
All published patterns, including those published on the internet, are automatically copyrighted regardless of whether they include a specific copyright statement.
Changing one stitch does not remove copyright protection.
The legal ramifications are that you can be sued and they can recover damages and these damages may exceed what you actually make from the sales.
It’s also morally wrong. The person made their intent clear when they shared/sold you the pattern. If you didn’t agree then you shouldn’t have accepted/purchased the pattern.
Here are details: http://www.purplekittyyarns.com/info/copyright.html
The designer has spent a lot of time working on the design, and he/she should expect a return on it. It if was that easy, why don’t you just design your own?
The only courteous thing to do is write to the designer, and ask if you can use that pattern to make some items for sale. Most designers will authorize a person to use their design when for a charity. But not to profit from it yourself. They may let you make one or two items.. but not hundreds! If he/she is saying that you will be able to settle on a price, depending on how many are sold, then you would do best to just write and ask. That doesn’t cost anything, and then you will know. It will cost you a lot more should you sell those items illegally and are charged with copyright infringement.
Maybe it would just be a whole lot easier if you designed something for yourself, and sold them. If it is really good, you can sell the pattern and make more money that way.