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Can You Wash A Cotton Quilt? Sure...provided you take some care before, during and after. Stop by our "Ask Cindy" page, and the entry "How to Wash A Cotton Quilt." It should answer many of your questions.


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Copyrights and Quilts PDF Print E-mail
Dear Cindy, I was wondering if it is illegal to buy white fabric and trace a picture from either a coloring book or pictures online onto the fabric and then embroider the picture. I found on a website that you can buy fabric with NASCAR or cartoons and use that to make PJs or quilts and then sell them for profit, but it does not answer my question about tracing. Thanks for listening, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mary



Dear Mary,

My answer would have to be "It depends..." Does the coloring book (or online pictures) state up front that these are copyright-free, and you are free to use them? (A good example would be the Dover series of clip art books.) IF NOT, then you cannot assume that this is legal -- UNLESS due to their age, they are now in the public domain. For example, the fabric transfers that we sell through Brickworks are all pre-1925...because they've then been out 75 years, and are in the public domain. But there are still exceptions in that rule -- for example, we would not copy a Disney-related motif...even if it is a pre-1925 Mickey Mouse. (Disney is currently fighting to extend the copyright.)

We deal with this issue through my company, Brickworks, because we have monthly 'freebies' that include motifs and patterns. We give permission online for anyone to use these items for personal use -- but the second they print them off for resale, that permission ends. Then they need to contact us directly. The easiest way to solve your problem would be to write the coloring book people, or e-mail the website, for permission to use their motifs. Explain what you plan to use them for. If it is for personal use, they generally are ok with it...but you MUST get this in writing to protect yourself. If you are planning to embroider and sell these items, then you have to make that clear in your request.

I hear what you're saying about the website regarding NASCAR, cartoon fabrics, etc....but the truth is that Disney has gone after individuals who used official Disney fabrics to make items for sale. So I would not feel confident that website's info is right until you have checked it out thoroughly. And the easiest way to do that is to contact the fabric manufacturer and ask. They are all online, and it's not hard to find their websites -- just do a "search." Once you've heard from them, save a copy of their e-mail so you have something in writing to protect yourself! Yes, it's a hassle...but it's the right thing to do.

NOW, having said this -- can traditional quilt patterns be copyrighted? People have tried. So far, though, the courts say that diagrams, graphics and text can be copyrighted (i.e., the pattern pages) -- but the pattern itself, if it has been in traditional use, cannot. In other words, we can go on making Nine Patches, Trip Around the Worlds, Dresden Plates, etc. to our heart's content. There are some good books out there that deal with the copyright issue...I can recommend some titles if you'd like to explore this more. Please bear in mind that I am not a lawyer, nor do I have law experience. This is my OPINION, however studied. But this is what I have found in my research for Brickworks, as well as my work as an appraiser.

I come at this issue differently, being a writer and designer myself. I have had articles reprinted and used in another publication -- with no pay, and no asking permission to do so! (I guess I should feel lucky that they actually put my name on the item they reprinted.) When I wrote the publication and told them how I felt about this, I got no response. Not one word. Would you feel strange about someone coming into your home and helping themselves to your food, without asking first? If they were hungry or it was for a good cause, I'm sure you'd say "fine, come on in." But you would want to have the chance to make that decision first...not them.

Cindy
 
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