Alex et al.,

I realize that copyright has been discussed before on Arachne, but I think
it's important that someone respond to Alex's initial statement. I agree
with you that once you give out a pattern, you have (almost) no control
over who copies it, but it is NOT in the public domain, at least not in the
US.  (What I say here I believe applies to the US at least, and I thought
to the UK and most of the rest of Europe as well.) The creator of a design,
diagram, set of instructions, text, score, etc. owns the copyright until
their death (and it is my understanding that it then becomes a question of
whether their estate renews the copyright or not), unless it is explicitly
signed over to someone else or explicitly put into the public domain. It is
my understanding that giving copies to a class, for example, is not putting
it in the public domain.

Practically speaking, once you give out a pattern, you are dependent on
people's honesty either not to copy it, or to ask permission, or to pay you
for it. Distributing a pattern without at least a name on it is making it
unreasonably difficult (IMHO) for people to be honest about it, and I think
it would be difficult to defend one's copyright in that case. However, the
lace-making community is small enough and sufficiently networked that, if
someone's name is on a pattern, then the honest thing to do is to track
down the person and ask about acquiring a copy.

Where US law gives latitude, and makes it a judgment call, is the "fair
use" clause. I'm clearer about this clause in the case of a book: one has
the right to copy a limited portion of a published work for personal use.
Obviously an immediate question is what is meant by "limited"--I don't know
and I expect the attorneys would be glad to discuss it at length, for a
fee, but we can apply some common sense here. One factor determining
"personal use" is that the portion that is copied not be sold. This means
that I can copy a single pattern out of a book of patterns in the library,
for example, for my own use, without violating US copyright law. (That
doesn't mean that one should do so, however. The lace community is small
enough, and hence the market for lace books is small enough, that we should
be supporting our designers and authors.)  How the fair use clause would
apply to a stand-alone pattern that includes pricking, working diagram,
perhaps written instructions, perhaps a photo of the finished lace? I don't
know, but it would definitely not permit copying the entire thing, even
just for personal use.

Nancy
Connecticut, USA



On Wed, Mar 15, 2017 at 6:31 AM, Alex Stillwell <alexstillw...@talktalk.net>
wrote:

> Hi Kim
>
> I agree with you.
>
> Once you give out a pattern it is in the public domain and you have no
> control
> over who copies it. If you wish to keep it to yourself don’t give anyone
> the
> pattern.  I don’t mind friends sharing or teachers supplying my patterns
at
> no cost, (please do not pass on the working instructions, they often take
> more
> time to write than the design itself) particularly if they acknowledge
> that it
> is my design.  The time I got cross was when one of my students reported a
> supplier was selling one of my designs.
>
> Perhaps if more lacemakers learned to design there would be less copying.
> It
> takes a time, the replies we have are typical, but it is very rewarding.
>
> Blow the dust, let,s design
>
> Alex
>
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