USA Copyright do's and don't info found

I've seen that before - should have thought to send it along myself.

But - what about the stitch diagrams? Are those part of the copyright?

Cheryl

"Cheryl Isaak" wrote

My understanding is that you cannot claim intellectual property rights in the way a stitch is done, but a diagram is a work of an individual, and so that person can claim intellectual property rights in that depiction. You can't claim to have rights over the French knot, which has been done by many people for a long time, but you could copyright your written instructions or your illustration of how it is done. If they are in a book or chart, the copyright of the publication would extend to them.

Dawne

Well put, Dawne. That's exactly what I was taught, and what has been published to the trade asso. Members - at least TNNA did one some years ago for the designers (full members). There are some well known designers that are particularly picky about their diagrams - and they should be. It takes a fair amount of work to do a nice diagram - beyond what a charting program just pops up.

Ellice

"ellice" <

I have found that a stitch diagram can make all the difference--some don't really help, but the right one gives that aha moment.

Dawne

Amen to that, sister! Who(m?)ever did the diagrams for the Elsa Williams and Erica Wilson, (should that be Elsa Wilson/Erica Williams?) kits and books deserve sainthood ;-)

Agreed - completely.

And the ones that make those one diagrams that make backstitching look hard should be flogged with well licked floss.

Maureen hates half-stitches (whatever they are) and I can always tell when she is sewing a pattern that involves them because the air is often quite blue!

I cherish my copy of Erica Wilson's Embroidery Book. You are right, good diagrams you can actually learn a stitch from.

Dawne

So true. Some years ago I took a sampler class done with a Just Nan teaching piece. The diagrams - fabulous. And I remembered learning then about the copyright issues/protection on stitch diagrams from the LNS owner.

Having been teaching a lot of late, I really note that with doing commercial designs. It's interesting seeing some pieces that the designer has just indicated the stitch to be done, with either no diagram or a really bad one

- and it's up to me to do a clear one. A piece I taught last year - the diagrams for some stitches were so bad - all the threads in the center of the block (it was a largish Rhodes) looked like a big blob - and there are over 20 legs in this particular one. Plus, the designer had mislabeled the beginning number. Nice.

I often go to reference books to verify stitches. OTOH, doing stitch diagrams is a bit time consuming but the important part in trying to do an original design to be taught.

Ellice