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A Recent Copyright Incident

I’m not sure if you’ve heard about or kept up with the Emily Cier, C&T Publishing & Kate Spain copyright incident.  The more I’ve read about it, the more shocked I’ve been.  I thought about writing a blog post and figured I should keep out of it since these type issues can get so controversial.  Leah wrote a very comprehensive and very well written post about her view, and I agree with her interpretation completely.

I’ve said it before . . if you use my patterns and make quilts, I’m happy!  What I don’t want is for people to copy my instructions and hand them out, either freely or for sale, as their own.

After reading the whole Cier/C&T/Spain issue, I’m more tempted to start dying my own fabric and forget about the big names.  All I use is tone on tone anyway so why risk having a problem because I showed a picture of a quilt on my blog . . a quilt I made from purchased fabric from someone who seems to only want me to buy the fabric, stick it on the shelf and not use it!

I can tell you one thing for certain . . if I see  a fabric that says “for personal use only” on the selvage, I will not be bringing it home.  As quilters, we have a big voice in what these folks can do and cannot do and without hurting the local quilt shops, I think it’s time we demand a little more freedom with the fabric we buy.  Why on earth would someone care if I bought her fabric and used it for projects which I donate to the local church to sell at their fund raiser or if I stuck it on the shelf in my sewing room and never used it.  She’s gotten her money so why would she care if I made a project for the local benefit sale.  I can see why she would care if I came home and somehow printed that exact fabric on my fabric printing press and then sold her design on my fabric!

Anyway . . what is “personal use”?  If I use fabric on a quilt that’s donated as a QOV, is that personal use?  I can see where it could be a problem.  What about if I show a picture of that quilt on my blog and on my blog are ads and I make a bit of money off those ads.  Is that now commercial use instead of personal use?

I really do find it frustrating enough that I’m seriously considering going back to dying my own fabric . . in the unlikely even I ever need any more fabric!

Yesterday we met with our CPA, saw what percentage of my income is going to taxes and came home and promptly changed my website to say that I am no longer scheduling any teaching — no workshops and no lectures.  It makes no sense for me to load up my car, go through the hassle of traveling, staying in hotels, being in strange places, coming home exhausted and keeping about  half of my income.  It’s not worth it and I give up!  Will it eventually come to the point that it’s just not worth the hassle to even buy fabric and quilt?  I hope not!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I’m sure your fans will be disappointed that you will no longer teach or give lectures, but it’s certainly understandable when the “guvmint” sticks its had so deeply in your pocket. I predict you’ll keep quilting though…you love it and there are always places/causes that need donated quilts.

    I’ve also read many posts on the copyright incident you write about. I’ve thought about it a lot and all I can say is I’m not going to change a thing about how I do things. I’ll buy whatever fabric I wish, put it in my quilts and if somebody objects to a picture I put on my blog…well, my picture is just as copyrighted as the little bit of their fabric that might be in my quilt. I think the biggest part of the problem is the lawyers working on contingency. The more defendants they can drag into a case the better the chance they have of goudging huge sums of money they get a share of. If anyone reading this is a lawyer and has done that, then shame on them.

    • Ditto! Ditto! A lot of things have changed since lawyers have started creating their own “job security” preying on our “selfish/you’ve been wronged” gene that most don’t even, truly, realize exists!!

  2. Well said, Judy. I was shocked when I first saw “for personal use only” on a selvedge. I’m not buying those fabrics either. As for designers who send lawyers after people who were given free fabric because they were authors and then used it–not buying their fabric, or any of their designs on anything.
    Greed can make everyone lose.

  3. This whole thing has be scared spitless. I never ever dreamed such a thing has come to a pass. I’ve always thought that once I’ve purchased the fabric, I can do (make) anything I wish. And now, all the rules have changed.

    I’ve got a lot of fabric I’ve purchased over the years that I have no clue to what is what because they’re missing information on the selvages (fat quarters or half yardages). I also have purchased some recently that are famous lines and again, no information on the selvages. Am I expected to keep the information on each and every fabric I buy? It’s utterly rediculous considering some of my fabrics were purchased way back in the late 90s!

    There is a boycott on the designer that sued. She is losing out due to that dang lawsuit. She should have never come out. But the sad fact is, she did. And, now everyone knows. I have lines of her fabrics and crap, I’m scared to death to use it! What a waste of money!

    I’m trying to give it time to gel in my mind and to come to decisions; but, it has been over a week since I found this out.

    When I go into a fabric store, I don’t really bother looking at selvages; but, I guess I will from now on because I didn’t even know “personal use only” existed. I thought they were created for our enjoyment to turn into clothes, quilts, and more and I’ve been thinking about selling them off just to get them off my hands (not to make a profit) because I don’t want to hang onto them and look like a hoarder. 🙁

    Do I need to say I’m scared again? Life just got really hard. *sigh*

    • Amy Butler did something similar. For a while, you could not make anything for sale using her fabric as she felt if something poorly made had her name on it, that it would reflect on her brand.

      I’m not sure if that is still the case. I haven’t kept up with what she does anymore and I certainly will never buy her fabric or patterns anymore because if it.

        • Good point on the FQ is it the responsibility of the store when cutting FQ’s to make sure that the selvedge shows that the fabric is copyright, how far does this all go.
          Please don’t ruin the only vice I love and want to continue with just because of legalities.
          I wish things that are enjoyed could be kept simple

  4. I will concede that Kate may have had a point regarding the totes, and C&T did acquiesce in that matter. Why the lawyers went after Emily and the book is quite another matter.
    Regarding the ‘personal use only’ selvage: I would consider the fabric used in making a quilt, much like the steel used in making a car. Did US Steel tell Chrysler how they could use the steel? No, you sell the good, you take your money, you have no more to say in the matter. If your designer or scientist did something special with the material, they get paid royalties/commission out of the sale price, no more say for them, either.
    I think we really need to let our dollars talk for us and avoid buying those specially marked selvedges until the manufacturers get the message. Not just of this one designer, who may have been partially right, but to let them know that we feel that when we pay for something like this, it is ours to use as we see fit. (Commercial use is a different matter, and they already have ways of dealing with that. I don’t see many clothes makers lining up to by quilting fabric at LQS prices.)

  5. Hi all! From what I understand, it wasn’t about how the fabric was used. It was used in the quilt in the book with permission. But when the company took the image of the quilt and photoshopped it onto a computerized image, and then they arranged that image on the picture with the quilt, and then put the whole new picture in the book without Kate’s knowing. Furthermore, they took the photoshopped image and applied to a bag they sponsor with the image of her fabric used in the quilt. They sold the bag with Kate’s knowing, and I guess any royalties.
    To me, it would be like someone taking a quilt I donated, cutting it up, making it into something else, and then making even more money off of it because it had my name on it.
    Yes, all parties admit everything all out of proportion. But it is over.
    Yes, we all need to be sure we reference the fabrics we purchase for our own use, but show to others on our blogs. We all know how easy it is for ideas to grow into finished items.
    It is slowly, all, blowing over… Like the winds in Texas? LOL!
    Take care, Leslie

    • I don’t think it is over so long as the selvage of some fabrics has “for personal use only” printed on the selvage. In the instance being discussed, the publisher made the tote, the author made the quilt with fabric donated for the purpose of being included in the book so I see no reason why the author should have been involved in this.

      I disagree with your analogy about taking a quilt you donated and cutting it up. I don’t care what someone does with a quilt I make! That’s like saying it’s wrong to take broken china and make something pretty out of it.

      Do I care if someone takes my book, and cuts the pages apart and makes something totally different than a quilt book? NO! Do I care if they photocopy the pages and give them away or sell them? Yes!

      Honestly, if buying fabric and using it in a quilt means referencing every fabric I use, I won’t be using much fabric in the future!

  6. what a sticky situation. I feel for everybody involved….. Although, I’m going to side with Kate on this one….. the problem is that HER fabric was essentially ”reprinted” onto something for sale. Right ON those totes. It was a partial picture of a quilt, yes, but it was still her fabric and it was reprinted w/o permission. It wasn’t the quilt designers fault at all, it was C&T publishing that should have known better. BUT, I will NOT use fabric that says ”for personal use only” either! That is where I think Kate is wrong in her copyrighting….. I want to sell my quilts if I feel so inclined! Sad, but I think I might have some Fandango – guess it will just sit on my shelf!

      • Yeah, that’s how I see it, too. And… I think the photographer needed to be credited as well. As an amateur photographer, I strongly believe that the image is owned by the photographer, unless he/she made other rights/arrangements with the publishing company.

        • Just to add to this line of thinking. I am a PUBLISHED photographer. One of my photographs was noticed on a Photo contest site and the publisher contacted the site who contacted me. I sold the rights for the photo to be on the cover of ONE book by that publisher. I kept all other ownership and rights to the image.

          So the IMAGE itself is an owned pieced of property. There certainly are a lot of grey areas here. A judge really needed to be involved so precedents can be set on this sort of issue.

          • i agree. lots of quilters don’t realize that putting photos online of the quilts they make from someone else’s pattern is a copywrite violation. the exception would be if you send a photo of your quilt to the patttern designer to put on their blog, like Bonnie of Quiltville@ does.
            i do know about copywrite, which is why i don’t blog anymore, but i still make quilts.

      • Sometimes I see a quilt that I love–in a magazine, in a quilt shop, on a pattern–and want to find and buy THAT FABRIC. Many quilters do that. When we do, the fabric designer makes another sale! The designers who complain are cutting their own throats.

  7. Well lets not go overboard and not use fabric we have, thats a bit much. Use it, just dont republish it on something you sell commerically.

    • What about posting a picture of a quilt on a blog (like mine!) that has ads? That’s commercial use! Where does that fall?

  8. Leah’s blog was the best response I’ve seen. The video was amazing. Thank you for linking it. I hope to share my designs someday but with all these crazy stories I’d been reading by others on their blogs about getting threatened by other “designers” with similar designs…I’ve been very leery. I don’t have any extra money for lawyers nor do I want my favorite personal activity turned into something that makes me feel dejected. I’m going to link your blog on mine for this issue…it’s going to take a lot of personal support to fight lawyers from taking our treasure away from us…this is not the time to be quiet and see what happens.

    • All you have to do is say “this is for use in any way by any one after you purchase it” and everyone will be buying your designs!

  9. I’ve been making Kaye England’s Legacy quilt for the past year. So much of the museum reproduction fabric for civil war prints have notices in the selvage saying something along those lines. I think they say “not for commercial use”. I’ve often scratched my head wondering what that meant. I assumed that I couldn’t sell anything made with that material.

    When I buy fabric, I expect to be able to do whatever I want with it. That piece of woven threads and dye is now in MY possession and I paid big bucks (now days) to be able to use it any way I wish! It is a subject that really riles me up.

  10. I have Kate’s Fandango line and no where on the salvage does it say personal use only – I don’t know where they are getting that from. This whole subject is so far over the top one wonders what they can and can’t do. Some patterns even say you can make for your personal use only – what if when you die someone sells your quilt – they won’t know it wasn’t supposed to have been sold!! I have one pattern that says you even have to ask them if you want to put it in a fund raiser!! I didn’t see that until I was done with the quilt and happened to look at the small print on the pattern. Most of my fabric is fat quarters as I do scrappy – some have nothing on the salvage at all.
    Karen

  11. I have been thinking about this a lot since it first was brought to the forefront, and while I respect copyright, I think this is taking it too far. To a large part, I think the manufacturers are at fault, and the trend towards producing all the “Designer” fabrics has contributed to this in a big way. Looking back through my stash, I find that the bulk of fabric purchased in the 80’s and 90’s have only the manufacturer’s name on them. I assume that either the mfg. purchased the designs outright or had designers on staff and therefore owned the designs produced.

    With this trend towards using independent artists to design fabric has come the resulting pride in ownership of those designs. I have been lamenting for quite some time now that this trend is also creating a lot of quilts that look like cheater cloth quilts, because they are made completely out of one line of fabric. There is no sparkle. This sparkle comes from putting together colors that aren’t quite perfect matches, and by adding an accents and value variations.

    I wonder if this whole mess would had been avoided had Emily simply mixed it up a bit more, showcasing a variety of fabrics, not just one line from one artist. Guess we’ll never know the answer to that.

    Anyway, I intend to avoid using any KS fabric in the future. Having trusted C&T for many years, and seeing their great support for the quilting industry, I cannot believe that the whole matter could have been easily handled with a phone call and a compromise.

    Judy, thank you for sharing so much of yourself and your talents with all of us mere mortals. I appreciate this sharing attitude so much.

  12. I am a quilter. I make quilts for my family, myself and as gifts. I PAY for all my fabric. If some designer does not appreciate me choosing to BUY her fabric for my projects and wants to tell me I can’t do this or that AFTER she taken the money from the sale of her fabric then I don’t need her fabric. So to make a long story short I will not be buying Kate Spain fabric even if it’s a penny a yard……..ever!!!!
    Greed and control freaks are simple pleasures.

  13. The last sentence should have been Greed and control freaks are ruining life’s simple pleasures for us all.

  14. Some people don’t surf the Internet or read blogs (yes that is shocking)
    I feel that when I pay money for fabric, it is mine to use as I see fit. I do not sell my quilts. As far as you being commercial, you’re Judy. I read your blog because I want to.
    In my opinion, fabric designers get paid for their designs. I would not recognize designs by fabric designers. I do not buy lines of fabric. I use from my stash and I have no idea who designed the patterns– a few yes, Dimples and Fairy Frost.
    Thanks for the link to Leah.
    Keep on doing what you do.

  15. Thank you so much for linking to that – what a sensible discussion, and that video was just riveting! A lack of intellectual property protection is certainly doing the fashion industry no harm at all. I am a little bit sorry the publishing company backed down over this – not that I blame them – but it would have been nice to get a judgement on an issue that affects so many people.

  17. I am so naive and clueless, I was unaware of this whole brouhaha until I read about it in your blog. I guess I will be checking the selvedges of fabric before I purchase and not buy any that say ‘for personal use’ only. Even though I have never made a quilt that WASN’T for personal use only.
    What astonishes me is that now that she has stirred up all this ugliness, Kate Spain is pretending on her blog to be all nicey-nicey, basically saying, ‘aw, can’t we all be friends again’ etc.

    • a classic response would be
      ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

  18. Does enjoyment of life come into the equation of copywrite I believe most quilters do it for the enjoyment not to make a profit at others expense and it is interesting to see other people imaginations put into a quilt.We all think differently view things differently make things differently please dont stop blogging I enjoy looking at quilts no matter whose material. If I love the look of it and think I can make it I will is that enjoyment or breaking copywrite laws.

  19. I dye and sell yarn. If a buyer wants to use my yarn for something to sell, fine. You’ve bought the yarn from me and now you own it. I have expectations that you will use the yarn. KS should have had the same expectations. The business with the totes is one thing, and I think she’s correct there, but the lawsuit against the writer is ridiculous. Wouldn’t you think that she’d be happy that her fabric was used in the book? I’d be thrilled if someone used my yarns in a book (and gave me credit).

    I was thinking of buying some of her latest fabric, but now I’m so turned off by this lawsuit, that I won’t. If people are buying your fabric and using it, then others will see that lovely fabric and want to buy it, too. That’s what it’s all about: sales. If you don’t want people to show quilts made from your fabric, then don’t sell the fabric.

    OK, off my soapbox. I think I need to sew on pretty fabric.

  20. I think that this whole copyright thing has gotten too crazy. Makes one afraid to use any fabric in case someone comes back on you. I, too feel that if I have bought the fabric I have the right to use it in any way I want. (Even if I make a dog’s bed out of it, it’s mine.) The fabric manufacturer has already paid the designer. That is the end of her say on the design, to me. After reading the McCall’s article (written by a lawyer, I might add) I decided I just wouldn’t enter any quilts in any shows. Who knows when someone will claim a 9 Patch as their design and try to sue you for using it. (It is a public domaine pattern, I think) However we are a society that seems to be in love with sueing each other, so you never know! I, also will be more vigilent about what is printed in the selvedge, and will not buy Ms. Spain’s fabric. Perhaps we should let the manufacturer of said fabric know? It is all just a very sad situation.

  21. Judy – I have followed the online articles about the Kate and Emily/CT publishing copyright issue, but I hadn’t read Leah’s blog article. Thank you for your link to Leah’s fablously written essay on copyright. She had me laughing and cheerleading as I read through her article. I especially enjoyed the YouTube video she imbedded in her article. The video was very informative and contained valuable information regarding copyright.

    If I were Emily, I would not work with Kate Spain.

    I will not support Kate Spain by purchasing her fabric.

  22. the one good thing to come out of this is that we can now go thru our stash and gladly toss out all Kate Spane fabric (if we have any!) and free ourselves of the worry of being sued for using it.
    The stash reports should be very interesting in the next few weeks!

    i do wonder if the quilt shops that stock her fabric will be doing the same thing~~~tossing the fabric and writing it off as a loss to avoid the complications of possible law suits.

    • It’s wasteful to throw it away, however I just used a nice big piece to clean the windows on my car. Personal use.

  23. Late to the party here. Oh, the weekends with the husband!

    I could go on and on here about this whole issue. I did read Leah’s post and it was excellent. Honestly, I have never seen fabric with the label for personal use only. Yet. I can honestly say I will not buy any fabric that says that on the selvedge. I’m not a fabric designer name dropper. I buy fabric by sight and touch. If I like it, I buy it. If it somehow has a fancy designer name attached to it, I don’t particularly care.

    I guess I thought designers designed fabric, fabric companies made the fabric and it filtered down to us to buy it. Aren’t we supposed to use it? Perhaps that is a naive view but this is not a win/win for these designers. No wonder solids have become so popular. What next? Copyright on color?

    This is one crazy contentious world that we live in that someone thinks they are losing ten cents because their design on a piece of fabric shows up on a grocery bag. Do we have to give up quilting because of their egos? That is what it will come to. It will die as a craft because we can’t share with each other or use our own imaginations to create something.

    It is all rather depressing, isn’t it? I do understand the need for copyright but has everybody lost their mind over it? One would hope that these designers are paying attention to what the consumer is saying in the quilting world.

  24. I’ve been following this for several weeks now, and must admit that it doesn’t make me happy. I rate all of this right up there with the issues caused a while back by Brenda P. and the “Dear Jane” brouhaha. I had bought her book and rulers and was making the blocks when all of that occurred. It ‘soured’ me so much that I gave away the book and rulers. I made small wallhangings as ‘Thank Yous” to friends with the blocks I had made so far. I will not ever purchase anything else by her.

    I have 2 charm packs of Ms. Spain’s fabrics right now. At the moment, I don’t even want to look at them—and I loved them when I bought them. That brings up a whole other issue with the selvedge ‘warnings’. There ARE no selvedges on charm packs, jelly rolls, layer cakes, etc. So, unless you specifically look at the yardage on the bolts, looking for ‘warnings’, you’d never have a clue there WAS one.
    I understand that Ms. Spain has other, non-fabric items that she sells with her designs on them. That’s fine, and I’m glad that she’s successful with that. But if she doesn’t want anyone else to use her designs, she should stop designing fabrics. Fabric is not one of her ‘knick-knacks’ to be bought and put on a shelf.

    All of these issues with pattern designs and, now, fabric designs are the very reasons I’ve ignored pleas for many years to either sell my quilts or enter them in shows. Of the 250+ quilts I’ve made over the last 17 years, I have less than 10 in my possession. Instead, they are gifted to family, friends, and charity. Because I am not “profiting” from them, I don’t have to worry about issues with “for personal use only”. Making gifts for those I love IS my own personal use! Eve

  25. And what happens if you buy fabric at the thrift store and those selveges with the personal use warnings are already long gone?

  26. Wow! I missed one day’s Patchwork posts and look what happened! This will keep me reading all evening. There are sure a lot of thought-provoking responses here.

  27. I didn’t get to read all the comments, but I have done some research, and the “for personal use only” on the selvedge is a designer preference but it’s not legally binding. I double dog dare them threaten to sue me. The letter they’ll get back will include legal precedents and references that let them know I understand they have no authority. Even “licensed” fabric
    can be used by the purchaser however they want. We aren’t bound by a licensing agreement when we buy it in a store unless we’re given a legal licensing agreement, which never happens. I am modifying my purchases, but only because I don’t like the attitudes, not because they have any legal standing. I just don’t care to support people if I don’t like their attitudes.

  28. I’ve just been reading all the comments and saw the TED video that was referenced and now I’m wondering if the “For Personal Use Only” selvage can be found on any of the fabrics in Mood Fabrics that the fashion designers on Project Runway use. Quilt fabrics are often bought to make up children’s clothing, to make up purses or other non-quilt purposes because the designs are so attractive. So where does this take us then? Starting to sound pretty utilitarian to me.

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