Copyright law in McCall's

From time to time the sticky issue of copyright violation comes up and
we inevitably have a lively discussion. Obviously, the entire quilting
world is struggling with the issue. Now McCall's 'Quilting' -- the
September/October issue -- has devoted an entire article to copyright
for quilters.

The article is written by Janet Jo Smith, an attorney, writer and
quilter who specializes in hand-dyed fabric. It's a good article,
thorough without being dense, and has all the information most of us
will ever need. Check it out. Unfortunately, it's not online anywhere,
but in my opinion it's worth the price of the magazine.

Sunny

On Jul 27, 1:42*pm, Sunny wrote:
From time to time the sticky issue of copyright violation comes up and
we inevitably have a lively discussion. Obviously, the entire quilting
world is struggling with the issue. Now McCall's 'Quilting' -- the
September/October issue -- has devoted an entire article to copyright
for quilters.

The article is written by Janet Jo Smith, an attorney, writer and
quilter who specializes in hand-dyed fabric. It's a good article,
thorough without being dense, and has all the information most of us
will ever need. Check it out. Unfortunately, it's not online anywhere,
but in my opinion it's worth the price of the magazine.

Sunny

I have no doubt it's a good article. However IME, ask 20 lawyers a
question about copyright (or any intellectual property question) and
you'll get at *least* 20 answers - sometimes more!

I have no doubt it's a good article. However IME, ask 20 lawyers a
question about copyright (or any intellectual property question) and
you'll get at *least* 20 answers - sometimes more!

Yes you will. Because even most lawyers don't understand
copyright/intellectual property. It is a highly specialized field. I'd only
ask an IP lawyer, because inevitably if you ask me, I'll think I know the
answer but I really won't.

Maureen

Maureen Wozniak wrote:
I have no doubt it's a good article. However IME, ask 20 lawyers a
question about copyright (or any intellectual property question) and
you'll get at *least* 20 answers - sometimes more!

Yes you will. Because even most lawyers don't understand
copyright/intellectual property. It is a highly specialized field. I'd only
ask an IP lawyer, because inevitably if you ask me, I'll think I know the
answer but I really won't.

It also varies somewhat from country to country. over here in the UK we
don't have to register our copyright, it simply exists as soon as you
have written/drawn/composed.... something, whether published or not.
Proving and defending it is a different matter, but it lasts your
lifetime + a certain number of years (50 or 75, can't remember off the
top of my head)

Of course if you are an engineer or inventor or scientist, what you do
is not covered by copyright. You have to apply for a patent and you can
only get 20 or 25 years maximum protection (again I am not absolutely
certain, but I know it isn't lifetime+ ), and then only if you can
afford to defend it in court.

Lizzy

On Jul 28, 8:48*am, Maureen Wozniak wrote:
I have no doubt it's a good article. *However IME, ask 20 lawyers a
question about copyright (or any intellectual property question) and
you'll get at *least* 20 answers - sometimes more!

Yes you will. *Because even most lawyers don't understand
copyright/intellectual property. *It is a highly specialized field. *I'd only
ask an IP lawyer, because inevitably if you ask me, I'll think I know the
answer but I really won't.

Actually, I was thinking of 20 IP lawyers...
IANAL, but I was involved in IP in my former business almost daily.
As (still) a part-time writer, I still have to be concerned with
copyrights;
moreso if I ever decide to publish my quilt designs.

Doc

On Jul 28, 9:58*am, Lizzy Taylor wrote:
Maureen Wozniak wrote:
I have no doubt it's a good article. *However IME, ask 20 lawyers a
question about copyright (or any intellectual property question) and
you'll get at *least* 20 answers - sometimes more!

Yes you will. *Because even most lawyers don't understand
copyright/intellectual property. *It is a highly specialized field. *I'd only
ask an IP lawyer, because inevitably if you ask me, I'll think I know the
answer but I really won't.

It also varies somewhat from country to country. *over here in the UK we
don't have to register our copyright, it simply exists as soon as you
have written/drawn/composed.... something, whether published or not.
Proving and defending it is a different matter, but it lasts your
lifetime + a certain number of years (50 or 75, can't remember off the
top of my head)

That's pretty much the same here - Berne Convention.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_C...Artistic_Works


Of course if you are an engineer or inventor or scientist, what you do
is not covered by copyright. *You have to apply for a patent and you can
only get 20 or 25 years maximum protection (again I am not absolutely
certain, but I know it isn't lifetime+ ), and then only if you can
afford to defend it in court.

The crux of any IP is the ability to defend it in court. If you can't
afford to, or the cost to defend it is more than the damages involved,
it often isn't worth it as a practical matter unless one enjoys
tilting at windmills...

Doc

On Jul 27, 12:42*pm, Sunny wrote:
From time to time the sticky issue of copyright violation comes up and
we inevitably have a lively discussion. Obviously, the entire quilting
world is struggling with the issue. Now McCall's 'Quilting' -- the
September/October issue -- has devoted an entire article to copyright
for quilters.

The article is written by Janet Jo Smith, an attorney, writer and
quilter who specializes in hand-dyed fabric. It's a good article,
thorough without being dense, and has all the information most of us
will ever need. Check it out. Unfortunately, it's not online anywhere,
but in my opinion it's worth the price of the magazine.

Sunny

This reminds me of a discussion a while back....my memory is terrible,
but maybe someone else can help, as I was curious how it turned out.
It was a designer whose notecard designs had obviously been copied
into a fabric line, and she had a blog talking about it. I guess it
stands
out to me because but this was someone who seemed like a "regular
person" whose talent and creativity had obviously just been...well...
stolen. The design was teacups. Does anyone know how that
turned out?

Sherry

I did some Googling and found the designer has filed suit against the fabric company, but it hasn't been
resolved yet.
--
Louise in Iowa
nieland1390@mchsi dot com
http://community.webshots.com/user/louiseiniowa


Sherry wrote:
On Jul 27, 12:42 pm, Sunny wrote:
From time to time the sticky issue of copyright violation comes up and
we inevitably have a lively discussion. Obviously, the entire quilting
world is struggling with the issue. Now McCall's 'Quilting' -- the
September/October issue -- has devoted an entire article to copyright
for quilters.

The article is written by Janet Jo Smith, an attorney, writer and
quilter who specializes in hand-dyed fabric. It's a good article,
thorough without being dense, and has all the information most of us
will ever need. Check it out. Unfortunately, it's not online anywhere,
but in my opinion it's worth the price of the magazine.

Sunny

This reminds me of a discussion a while back....my memory is terrible,
but maybe someone else can help, as I was curious how it turned out.
It was a designer whose notecard designs had obviously been copied
into a fabric line, and she had a blog talking about it. I guess it
stands
out to me because but this was someone who seemed like a "regular
person" whose talent and creativity had obviously just been...well...
stolen. The design was teacups. Does anyone know how that
turned out?

Sherry