You’ve fallen in love with a pattern and everyone’s telling you that you “should make those and sell them — you’d make a lot of money.” But there’s some question in your mind about that — the pattern says “for personal use only” or maybe “for pocket money”. Maria explains what these terms mean.
You see a great project you’d like to make to sell for an upcoming craft show in a book or magazine and wonder if you are allowed to make it to sell. I’ve been warning you about copyrights and copyright infringement so you feel a little nervous about making the design to sell. Good! You are now thinking like a professional. And the professional thing to do is research whether or not you can use that design for more than just your personal use.
Personal use is implied for any project you buy or get for free (in a book, a magazine, a sewing pattern, or online). It means you can make one for yourself and, if you like, make one to give to your sister or friend. No money is exchanging hands. You are not going to profit from making the design. The deal changer is when you decide to sell the design in any form. You might want to make a few copies of the project instructions and use it to teach a class. You might make 12 of the item and place them on e-bay or etsy. You might kit all the materials for the project and sell them to others as a way to earn income.
Many publishers understand the fact that you might like to earn a little money from your creativity. It might be to support your crafting habit. It may be to save for a vacation. It might be to earn a living part or full time. Some publishers like Design Originals include a brief note in every book published saying that the designs within the book can be made for pocket money. What exactly does pocket money mean? It basically means that you will only create the projects by your own hand (not mass produced on machinery or by hiring 12 employees) and that you will limit the production. Publishers vary on how many of a specific design can be made, from allowing only 2 or 3 to allowing 100 to be made within a year’s time.
If you find the project in a book and do not see either a pocket money notice or a notice that no item can be made for sale (personal use), then you need to contact that publisher or designer for permission. Be specific. Let the publisher know how the items will be made, how many you intend to make, and where the items will be sold. Most publishers and designers just don’t want you to produce thousands of their designs by means of using a team of employees or machinery. If you reach this point, you are a manufacturer and the owner of the design should be compensated for their contribution.
By: Maria Nerius, Resident Craft Expert for FaveCrafts.com
Is it still considered a copyright infringement if you use a published pattern and make changes to it?
For example, if a pattern calls for a single piece of green cotton fabric for say a flower-shaped placemat and I chose to use the pattern’s basic flower shape, but choose to substitute the plain fabric with patchwork squares instead, is that considered copyright infringement if I were to make 50 sets of placemats to sell at a community craft show?
Hi,
Great question! It has to be a big enough change. Altering the patterns color, size, or shape is not a big enough change because you are still using the basic design. If you were to use part of a pattern in an entirely different project, that’s different but you would still want to make sure that pattern doesn’t have any specific copyrights on it. For example, if you found a pattern for a unique looking fabric flower and used that flower in a dress you made to sell at craft shows, you would need to check the specific copyrights on the flower pattern to protect yourself from any legal action.
Copyrights can be a very difficult thing to get a grasp on. Your safest best is to always check with the designer or company. Many are more than okay with you using their patterns to make pocket money.
I hope that helped!
Maggie
Thank you for this great article! I found you after a great deal of internet search on a question I have. Do you have any thoughts on online DIY-type articles? For example, I followed a DIY, loved the end result, and made a few more with new colors/alterations to size, etc. Now I’m wondering if it would be okay to include some of these in my Etsy shop. There is no note about personal use/pocket money. Do you think I should just follow the same idea and contact the designer? Thank you for your advice!
Great question! Yes, I would suggest contacting the designer. I’ve found that more often than not they are more than happy to have you reproduce the design to sell, but you know never know unless you ask. Like they say, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
I am taking jeans, shirts,etc… and taking them apart and making different things out of them. I am not trying to sell them as my original work. I put on my card redsigned or embellished.
Some of my items sell because they have a name brand on them. I bought them, wore them, and now I recycle them.
Is this still considered using copyright infringement. I have only made pocket change as the results but I enjoy making them.
I think since you are re-designing the item or re-appropriating them they count as your own design and you don’t have anything to worry about. It is very unlikely that a big brand would come after you for making pocket money with their logo, but that would be the only possible issue I see from what you’re doing. However, as long as you’re not trying to use that brand name to promote your work, you should be fine. Does that help?
H, I enjoyed reading the article on using someone else’s patterns. I do have anther question. I have purchased several patterns from a seller on eBay, and she has taken vintage patterns from 20′s, 30′s, 40′s, 50′s, and 60′s and she prints them on white paper after simplifyint the paterns. She states which ones are in the public domain at this time. Dose that mean the pattern has no copyright on it any longer? I eagerly await your answer. Thanks,
Deborah
Hi Deborah,
Yes, public domain means that those copyrights have expired so I believe you can feel free to recreate and sell items using those patterns. If you are ever not sure, it’s a good idea to contact the person you bought the pattern from. It’s lucky that this seller happens to mention that they are public.
I hope that helps!
I purchase artificial flowers and take them apart to make original creation flowers of my own. Can I sell these as my own original creation and can I make considerable money doing this?
Hi Samantha,
You can definitely sell your creations. AS for making money off of them, it will take a lot of hard work and effort but you can make any business successful if you are determined enough!
Just found this. Thank you! I am a senior and do not like using computers. Sorry. Is there some way I can get a paper copy of this information? I know that I will forget this very important information and would like to purchase a copy for future reference please. Hope you can help me. Thank you.
Hi Marsi,
I’m sorry, we’re only an online publication. However, you are more than welcome to print any articles you find interesting from your own home or perhaps a library computer.
I hope that helps!
I have been thinking of creating a DIY book on how to create birch bark items to use at your wedding.My concern is who would I contact to see if I could use there idea. Some of the ideas are my own creation (I think..at least I have not found anything like it on the internet) and others I have seen on various websites mainly Esty. The items that I would like to place in the book many of the stores on Esty sell similar items. So who would I contact..would I have to contact anyone if it is a more or less a “common” idea? Thanks
That’s tricky Jessica. I think if it’s a “common” idea as you say then it might be alright to publish a tutorial for it. However, if you want to use the design of someone who makes a unique product, you would have to contact that seller for permission to make sure they don’t have any working copyrights in place. I hope that helps a little. Good luck with your book!
As a newbie just getting started, this is very informative. This answered my questions. Thanks
Glad to hear it Barbara!
If I find a tutorial on YouTube on how to create a product, ex mini album, and i want to recreate it and sell it, can I?
Hi Gwen,
You can follow a basic tutorial, like how to make a mini album, and alter it to make a unique product and then sell it. You cannot recreate an original design from any tutorial and sell it for pocket money, unless it’s specifically stated.
I hope that helps!
Im lovIng the idea of creating little badges out of shaped wood; I’ve seen it done lots (hearts, stars etc) but wonder if it’s okay to batch buy the wood shapes to customise as my own? How does that work out?
Hi i am wanting to create some wooden hanging signs, i have found the shapes i want to buy and i will then paint and write things on and personalise are these ok to sell and also sewn hanging lavender hearts and bunting etc. Thanks
Doesn’t sound to me like it would be a problem!
I purchase fabric and crochet borders on it. Some of the fabric purchased is licensed. Am I allowed to sell the finished projects for pocket money?
Anxiously await your answer
I want to say that in most cases this is ok. The only issue would be if you are selling any kind of fabric with a trademarked character on it like a Disney character or a brand logo. In those cases, each company has their own specific rules and you’ll want to look into it further. I know for a fact Disney is very strict about their images.
I hope that helps!
I have purchased white plaster or wood ornaments, statues, houses, etc. They are plain and I paint them. The houses give ideas on colors to paint them and I somewhat follow the idea. All other items are just plain and I paint them the way I would like to see them. I also have plaster or cement statues which I restore and paint which have been given to me or are found at places like garage sales or second hand stores. Can I resell these items?
As long as you’re not selling the house painted exactly as the instructions say, you should be fine. Just think of the houses and paint as supplies. You would sell a bracelet using beads you bought at the craft store wouldn’t you? I hope that answers your question!
In and of themselves, patterns are not copyrightable, and restrictions placed on their use are meaningless…whatever you create from a pattern is yours to do with as you like. http://www.tabberone.com/Trademarks/CopyrightLaw/Patterns.shtml
Thanks for posting this site. I created a pattern for a crochet item and needed to know what (if anything) I needed to copyright. Apparently, once you put your pattern on the market, ANYONE is free to make the item and sell it as often as they wish. THAT is good news. I will trademark my design’s name and let people enjoy making and selling it.
This article was wonderful! I cut fabric into petals and various shapes and create artwork on canvas…do u think this is OK? I’ve seen similar designs on websites like etsy but never with the same fabric…
Totally ok!
Hello
I have a burning question for you. I am working on a knitting stitch pattern page on my website. By that I mean it is just the actual stitch pattern.
What I have been doing is making up swatches so that I can show people the many different ways of using knit and purl stitches and so on.
Are those actual knitting stitch patterns copyrighted? I see many, many websites that have pages like mine showing knitting stitch patterns but it raised a question with me.
The question along with this one is that if it is a copyright issue, how do the other hundreds of websites that do this get away with it?
All I am doing is showing the knitting stitch pattern. And I am not trying to make any kind of money from it. My website teaches people how to knit.
Thank you so much
Vickie D.
Hi Vickie,
I’m pretty sure you are totally fine in featuring those techniques.
Thanks!
Hi! I have a question regarding a certain pattern I’ve found on the internet. If I google the name of the pattern, I can find dozens of replications of the exact same pattern, all attributed to different authors. Do I need to go and ask each individual author for permission to sell things I’ve created with this pattern? Or is it just a free-for-all where anybody can use it for any purpose?
I’m wondering the same thing as Ivy. Also what about something that I basically had to use the instructions the first time I made the item and now can do it from memory because it’s so simple? Is it still truly the original pattern if I don’t need the pattern/instructions any longer and have put enough of my own spin on it?
I am using team themed fabric. Can I sell a non-team item to sell and give away the copyrighted one? BOGO
What is the percentage of change needed to make a pattern my own?
I have had a similar conversation with one of the groups I work with. One of the suggestions was to include the pattern name, designer name and website information on the completed piece.
In doing so, would this constitute copyright infringement?
Great comments about using DIY tutorials. Really helpful.
Just to note- I purchase and use machine embroidery designs from Embroidery Library INC. They make the use of design (by selling you a license) very clear. It says “When you make a purchase from our website, you are purchasing a license to sew the design. …The license that is sold to you allows you to sew the design, and use the result in the following manners: personal use, donations to charity, gifts, and sale for profit.”
IMHO is a great way to sell their designs.
see for their whole licensing policy go to the below
http://www.emblibrary.com/EL/help.aspx?page=helplicensing
If I purchased a book of crochet pattern w/ a celebrity endorsement. A friend has asked me to make a blanket using a pattern in this book. I this a legal problem?
Hi Cheryl, most patterns in published books have for personal or for pocket money licensing. This means that it is perfectly fine for you to recreate the pattern for your own use or to give to a friend. They problems come in when you are interested in selling those items to a lot of people. I hope that helps!
Hi. I have a question about making greeting cards to sell. Is there a problem in using patterned scrapbook paper that I’ve purchased from craft stores? What about the use of paper punches, etc.? I hadn’t given any thought to this until recently, after spending lots of money on supplies! When researching this I did come across a Tabberone article and felt a bit more comfortable with this issue but, as you can tell, I’m still concerned. Thank you for your help.
I buy panels from fabric stores and quilt them to make wall hangings. I’m hoping to make them to sell at a flea mkt. Do I have to contact the maker of the fabric or the person who designed the picture?
Maggie, are you saying the information at this website (http://www.tabberone.com/Trademarks/CopyrightLaw/Patterns.shtml — which is posted above) is incorrect? If so, I am totally confused. The information on that site clearly states that once a pattern is sold, placed “out there” for the public, NO COPYRIGHT infringement exists. The pattern may be copyright protected, but NOT the item created from it. It’s understandable that you couldn’t make a trademarked product and call it THAT item when you replicate it. A Swiss Army knife, MUST BE a Swiss Army knife. But I could make a knife with the same bells and whistles and it would just be my knife. Or did I misunderstand? A “Coach” bag is only a Coach if that company makes it. But if the pattern for the bag is out there, or I replicate it, I have not infringed the trademark unless I call my replica “Coach”.
Since I create crochet patterns, I understand others not wanting their creative genius “stolen”, but what is the point of releasing the pattern, if you don’t want it made? What’s the point of making things that you can’t sell, if you want to. And yes, sell to 1000 people, if you know 1000 people who want to purchase it.
If I sound confused, Maggie, I am!!
HELP!
Hi Alethea,
This article was written by Maria Nerius. She has had years of experience working in the craft industry and with trademarks and copyrights. Please feel free to contact her with any questions. I believe her blog and website information is located at the bottom of this page – http://www.favecrafts.com/Craft-Designers/Maria-Nerius
Thanks!
Maggie
Can I sell items online that are made from another person’s knitting or crochet pattern?