copyright question

[NinaT]

As far as I know, if the person who wrote the pattern is the one who posted it then it's OK to use it (again, not for selling).

[mrosen]

This is an interesting conversation. How do copyright laws apply to copying patterns out of a borrowed book (for your own use), I wonder? This came up while I was at a knitting store, and someone seemed appalled that a person wouldn't buy the book (as opposed to look for a way to borrow it.) I did not chime in at the time, but thought to myself, Geez, those books can get expensive. On the other hand, I noticed that my local library has quite a number of knititng pattern books, so it must not be illegal to borrow a book and copy a pattern out of it.

Do people often share published patterns on this forum (say, if someone were looking for a specific pattern in a specific book, but did not want to spend $30 on the book)?

melissa

[Julie]

Melissa, no, we don't share copyrighted patterns on this forum -- if someone does post one (usually by accident) the mods will remove it. It's considered acceptable to share, say, a few lines of a pattern if you're asking for assistance with it, but not the whole pattern. That's a no-no.

I do occasionally copy patterns out of knitting books from the library...I figure that's more considerate than renewing the book over and over until I get around to knitting them. But I find that if I fall in love with patterns in a certain book, I usually end up buying it eventually. :D

[mrosen]

Yeah, I mean, I figured it was a no-no. It just seems weird that a library could carry pattern books, though.

[NinaT]

I think it's OK to borrow pattern books from the library, just not copy them. Hey! I am no angel...if I see one pattern in a library book that I have borrowed I might copy it. Like Julie if there are a lot of patterns I like I'll just end up buying it.