I've been busily knitting on the pinwheel baby blanket. I'm using two size 8 circular needles now as it's gotten so big that I wasn't able to knit very quickly. And I'll have to add a third pretty soon. Making good progress on the other baby blanket as well but I didn't work on the mittens last night because I started the curtain for my front door. I would post the pattern here but as I disagree strongly with this "trend" in designers telling customers what they must do with their finished product, I won't be promoting her designs. Ever. What some designers don't realize (or won't acknowledge) is that copyright covers only the written words, not the finished object. Someone on Ravelry contacted the U.S. Copyright office and got that definitive statement from them. I have old pattern books from the 1980s that tell knitters and crocheters how to sell their finished objects from the designs they use. So this is just a "trend" that someone out there decided their hard work in designing entitled them to controlling what someone else's hard hours of work, not to mention cost of yarn, should also entitle them to.
So if they want to insist on being a bully about it, fine. But they won't get a penny from me, nor will they get any free advertising from me. Many designers have now stopped adding these restrictions on their patterns because they've come to realize it's not only wrong, it could be illegal as well. Lion Brand and Red Heart's patterns have no such restrictions on them and that should tell you something.
I have to add, though, that other countries laws are a bit different. In England, for instance, their copyright laws do cover the finished product and it's confusing to me whether we in America are supposed to honor their laws or if we're under the jurisdiction of just our laws. I don't buy a lot of patterns anyway (and don't buy magazines anymore because they have that unethical restriction on what I can do with my finished product) but I personally would honor the laws of the country the designer lived in. But that's just me.
Still, I don't get why designers are entitled to money (which they have been compensated for their hard work by the price of the pattern) but I'm not entitled to compensation for the money spent on yarn or the many hours of my talented effort put into the product. Bottom line is, I am. The U.S. Copyright office says so.
And the crap about licensing is bogus as well. If anyone tries to sell you a cottage license so you can sell your finished product...well, I'm pretty sure that's simply illegal. Because you can't license a useful article and clothing is a useful article. Dolls, toys, artwork on clothing and similar things can be licensed though, I think.
This isn't legal advice, as I'm not a lawyer, but it's my own belief about the scam that designers are using to control their patterns. Based on information from the U.S. Copyright office.
And so I move on...
I didn't get much sleep last night because Professor wanted to go for a wee every hour and a half to two hours so I had to get up with him because he was barking. And since Tom was sleeping on the couch, I had to keep Professor quiet. Tom wasn't feeling well last night and needed to be close to the bathroom so he slept on the couch. Which is another reason I didn't get much sleep last night. Snoring. And I mean window shaking snoring.
So I'm getting ready to crawl into bed in just a few minutes where I will knit on the curtain (and by the way, the curtain pattern is merely a drop stitch pattern with some lace edging you can find in a pattern book...so nothing special) and maybe one of the blankets. I don't think I have the brain power to focus on the mitten pattern tonight.
And lots of Farscape and Supernatural because I need something I can just listen to. Oh, and the director's cut of Hellboy that is on OnDemand right now. I couldn't finish it last night. It's over 2 hours long but simply great with the back stories and character development.
If I don't finish it tonight I'll lose my place and have to start over again.
Off to bed, if the pets will let me stay there. And let me knit. Lately Hannibal has been crawling up through the circle of my circular needles while I'm knitting and lying down on my chest so I can't knit because I have a cat enclosed in my needles. Or he'll get between me and the knitting so I can't see what's going on. Or reach with his paw to put my knitting down. Professor just barks at me to take him out. It's like having a couple of 2 year olds.
And I now have a cat lying across my forearms while I'm trying to type. I give up.
TTFN
So if they want to insist on being a bully about it, fine. But they won't get a penny from me, nor will they get any free advertising from me. Many designers have now stopped adding these restrictions on their patterns because they've come to realize it's not only wrong, it could be illegal as well. Lion Brand and Red Heart's patterns have no such restrictions on them and that should tell you something.
I have to add, though, that other countries laws are a bit different. In England, for instance, their copyright laws do cover the finished product and it's confusing to me whether we in America are supposed to honor their laws or if we're under the jurisdiction of just our laws. I don't buy a lot of patterns anyway (and don't buy magazines anymore because they have that unethical restriction on what I can do with my finished product) but I personally would honor the laws of the country the designer lived in. But that's just me.
Still, I don't get why designers are entitled to money (which they have been compensated for their hard work by the price of the pattern) but I'm not entitled to compensation for the money spent on yarn or the many hours of my talented effort put into the product. Bottom line is, I am. The U.S. Copyright office says so.
And the crap about licensing is bogus as well. If anyone tries to sell you a cottage license so you can sell your finished product...well, I'm pretty sure that's simply illegal. Because you can't license a useful article and clothing is a useful article. Dolls, toys, artwork on clothing and similar things can be licensed though, I think.
This isn't legal advice, as I'm not a lawyer, but it's my own belief about the scam that designers are using to control their patterns. Based on information from the U.S. Copyright office.
And so I move on...
I didn't get much sleep last night because Professor wanted to go for a wee every hour and a half to two hours so I had to get up with him because he was barking. And since Tom was sleeping on the couch, I had to keep Professor quiet. Tom wasn't feeling well last night and needed to be close to the bathroom so he slept on the couch. Which is another reason I didn't get much sleep last night. Snoring. And I mean window shaking snoring.
So I'm getting ready to crawl into bed in just a few minutes where I will knit on the curtain (and by the way, the curtain pattern is merely a drop stitch pattern with some lace edging you can find in a pattern book...so nothing special) and maybe one of the blankets. I don't think I have the brain power to focus on the mitten pattern tonight.
And lots of Farscape and Supernatural because I need something I can just listen to. Oh, and the director's cut of Hellboy that is on OnDemand right now. I couldn't finish it last night. It's over 2 hours long but simply great with the back stories and character development.
If I don't finish it tonight I'll lose my place and have to start over again.
Off to bed, if the pets will let me stay there. And let me knit. Lately Hannibal has been crawling up through the circle of my circular needles while I'm knitting and lying down on my chest so I can't knit because I have a cat enclosed in my needles. Or he'll get between me and the knitting so I can't see what's going on. Or reach with his paw to put my knitting down. Professor just barks at me to take him out. It's like having a couple of 2 year olds.
And I now have a cat lying across my forearms while I'm trying to type. I give up.
TTFN
1 comment:
I agree with you!
I'm about ready to get lazy over here also!
Vicki
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