I want to know because my dad bought me a crochet pattern of a coffee cup for a undisclosed amount of money and I am wondering if I can sell the finished products of the pattern without infringing on copyright…
I want to know because my dad bought me a crochet pattern of a coffee cup for a undisclosed amount of money and I am wondering if I can sell the finished products of the pattern without infringing on copyright…
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Following! RemindMe! 4 weeks
You are selling the product made off of it, not the pattern itself, so it should be fine selling it, but also most of the times the patterns have a disclaimer regarding it. Usually saying the same, you can sell the product but not the pattern.
Its a bit of a gray area.
I do a lot of art work with Origami. The stand on that from Origami USA and several other groups is that origami patterns are copyrighted, and you cannot sell anything made from someone else’s pattern without their permission. “Traditional” designs like the classic crane are considered public domain. You can make someone elses pattern for your own private use, but you cannot try to make a profit from them. That also includes things like making videos or teaching classes – you cant do that with someone else’s patterns as you are profiting off their work.
Does that apply to crochet patterns? I’m not 100% sure, but I woudnt want to risk it.
Some artists will specify in the pattern, but generally as long as you aren’t selling the pattern itself you should be fine. People know that items are going to be made and sold from their patterns. Think of all the clothing people make and sell using purchased patterns. You created the finished project. If it doesn’t say specifically not to sell your work on the pattern or site the pattern was from, then you should be safe legally anyway. Not a lawyer or anything, but I know language is very important in legal matters.
The pattern usually says what you’re allowed to do. Most designers let you sell the finished product only at small scale and with credits to them as the designer. So if you post it anywhere or have little tags on them at the market/fair.
If your pattern doesn’t say that, you can contact the designer to ask 🙂
ETA: You are never allowed to sell the pattern itself or parts of it.
I mean I wouldn’t, just ethically, regardless of what the actual law is. It still seems like their intellectual property, and buying a specific pattern is ultimately because you can do it on your own, originally. But I guess I don’t see the problem with heavy inspiration, lol “you can copy my homework but change a couple words” type inspiration, at least something so you’re not just straight up selling their design.
You can sell your make, you cannot sell the pattern itself. Some people put a note about not being able to sell the final product, but it has no legal standing. They can copyright the written instructions and charts, but not the final product you have made, the process, or the stitches themselves.
There is some ethical debate about it in the crafting community. Personally, I think they entered a market knowing the rules, whether they like those rules or not is not my problem. Just remember to credit the pattern maker.