copyright issues

[caviar]

I had a question for anyone who knows...

Is it okay to make a single copy of a single pattern from a book you check out from the library?

From what I understand (and this could be urban legend, but I got it from some people who SHOULD know at grad school, so correct me if you know I'm wrong...) it's okay to make a personal copy for educational purposes from library books if you're copying a small portion (less that 10% sticks in my head). So first of all, am I right? Second of all, does a knitting pattern for personal use fit "educational purposes?" Does anyone know anything about copyright laws and libraries?

Looking forward to tapping your collective expertise,

Kirstin

[koolbreeze]

WELL FROM WHAT I KNOW, ITS OK AS LONG AS YOU ARE NOT USING THE PATTERN FOR PROFIT AND IF YOU DO YOU HAVE TO GIVE CREDIT AND POSSIBLE PORFITS TO THE CREATOR... BUT SOMONE ELSE WILL KNOW MORE DIFFANTE INFO!

[Vendie]

While I am a librarian, I'm not a legal expert, but I believe this falls under the category of fair use. If you're making a copy of one or two patterns from a book, it's ok. If you're copying the entire book, then it's not ok. It's definitely NOT ok to sell the resulting product without permission from the pattern's author, which would be true regardless of whether you made the item straight from the book or a copy of the pattern.

Even though it's not technically for educational purposes, so long as you're not copying the entire book or selling the results, you're a-ok. It's kind of like how you're legally allowed to make a single backup copy of a software cd or music cd (even tho they like to make it difficult).

Hope that helps.