Ethics

I have a question about ethics. I am thinking of starting my own knitting business and was wondering how appropriate it was to sale work done using free (or purchased) patterns from books or the internet. Is this acceptable or should I be working on my own designs to make and sale?

Thank you for the feedback!

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Permalink Reply by Melissa Burnett on March 3, 2011 at 8:28pm

Some designers are great about this and put a disclaimer at the bottom of their patterns stating that you have permission to sell items knit from the pattern. You can always look for these patterns and use those items.

If you have specific patterns in mind, my suggestion is to contact the pattern company/author and ask!

If you CAN design your own pattern, it would be awesome to sell your own designs! It makes your items unique and when buying handknits it is absolutely a PLUS!

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Permalink Reply by Lucia Pou on March 4, 2011 at 2:10pm

Thank you so much for your reply. This helps a lot :)

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Permalink Reply by Jo mellis on March 5, 2011 at 12:02pm

You will run into copyright problems if you copy patterns and sell them. You have no problem, IMHO, when you sell a pair of socks that have been knitted. From someone's pattern.

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Permalink Reply by Jeannette Pirkle on March 10, 2011 at 10:13am

Some designers have limits. There are even a few who have stated no items to be sold. I know of one who has a free pattern out and when you download it she specifically makes you say it is for personal use or donation to charity only, No sales or profits can be made from this design. They usually have the disclaimer on the site with the pattern. If not, I think it is fair game to make items and sell the item but never the pattern itself. That is where this copyright thing gets sticky. Good luck with a business.

If you write to the author of a pattern they may give you special permission but you will have to do this with each and every one. Very time consuming but also very important.

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Permalink Reply by Sheila Stewart Leach on March 28, 2011 at 3:23pm

Lucia -

Many patterns are in the public domain, i.e., they are traditional and no one "owns" them. Even if someone graphs or narrates the pattern it does not mean it is theirs.

and unless someone gives notice on copyright it is in the public domain.

The perplexing problem is two-fold- if it is a printed pattern, the author and sometimes the publisher owns the copyright for 50 years. If it is created: a piece of art, the image can be photographed but not sold w/o permission from the artist, their family or heirs; again ownership rights have to be renewed or it goes to the public domain. If one "remakes" it or recreates it as is, it has to be credited, "After Ms. G....., by your name" Often the creator expects royalties, or a percentage of gross sales. If one changes elements creatively, it is considered appropriation and a new creation.

Unfortunaetly in the knitting, crochet, woven and embroidered world, our foremothers already came up with most of the techniques we use and many of the patterns, although we may bring new yarns and colors to these. For instance, I have a crochet book that credits a designer with the design of Irish Roses complete with an almost unusable pattern graph. Irish roses were created as part of the Irish lace movement in 1840-1860; when someone(the designer) does this, one loses respect for them - it would be so easy just to say, ....a new take on the Irish rose, give a little history and then show how to do it.... this woman can own her bad pattern for eternity but she does not own Irish roses or the complex techniques that make up Irish lace.

You might look at fashion copyright..... since you are using patterns for garments that you are going to be selling. I would assume that there are strong copyright laws on fashion design - that is such a competitive aspect of textiles.

As with most new businesses, research is half of the battle. And ethics and the law are not always the same. Ethically, you must contact each designer and ask for their permission in writing. Legally, unless they have declared copyright, you have less obligation.

If you want free advice, there are a number of textile and fashion museums and resources.... the Fashion Institute (FIT), Savannah School of Art and Design has a huge fashion department, Ruth Funk Textile Museum, Melbourne, Fl....you might consult some of the professors.

Good luck on our new business. If you haven't looked at Etsy.com for retail ops that might also be of interest.....

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Permalink Reply by Sheila Stewart Leach on March 28, 2011 at 3:27pm

Lucia - one other point; if you buy the pattern, you may have more freedom for use of the product made from the pattern than a free pattern; whether free or purchased, the designer may still have rights to royalties that you may want to ascertain up front.