I have been reading all the old posts on pattern copyrights and I am happy to draft my own patterns for accessories for sale, but I am having difficulty coming up with shapes (handbags or totes, for example) that have not already been published by some pattern company. There are only so many bag shapes - circular, square, rectangular, hobo, tube, knapsack, etc. - and every pattern company has these designs in their collections in one form or another. Most pattern companies even have patterns that look almost the same as those of other companies. If I draft my own pattern for a rectangular bag for sale, for example, that is similar to everyone else's rectangular bag and I embellish it with my own trims and use unique fabric, can a pattern company say it is too close in design to their pattern even if I didn't cut the bag from that exact pattern?
Likewise, if a client asks me to make a bag that looks like a bag they already own or have seen somewhere, I guess I cannot agree without infringing on some copyright. So how much would I have to change the design in order to comply with the client's request? I guess I could find a ready-made bag pattern that looks similar and have the client buy that pattern and then make that exact bag without issue as long as the client owns the pattern.
In clothing and accessories, there really isn't much new under the sun in terms of basic shapes and types of wearables. The designer's influence really comes in during choice of fabrics and trims. I can't imagine coming up with a bag pattern shape that would not be already on a paper pattern somewhere in some form. If ten people all think of the same design separately and draft their own patterns, who legally "owns" the pattern?