Okay, I hope you all like to give advice. 'Cause I have several questions I need answered and I figure you know the answers.
When is a changed pattern considered a new pattern? For example, if you have combined two different hat patterns, does that make it a new pattern? Or does more have to be changed to make it "original?"
Do you think it's worth bothering with a copyright? I'm not concerned about making money off a pattern or anything. I just don't think it would be fair for a person to create something then have someone else (or a pattern company) claim it as their own.
How hard is the whole copyright thing? I read a little about it last night. It appears to me that something is automatically copyrighted when you write it down. But you also can file your copyright. So is it good enough just to say it's copyrighted or would you need it to be filed to be able to claim it's your design?
How do you know if someone else already has a pattern for the thing you've created? Again, a hat example. Remember my goal of creating my own hat pattern this year? I designed this, but how do I know if someone else has a pattern for something like it? I've done a few searches, but sometimes the names don't tell you what a hat looks like. It would be impossible to look at each hat pattern online.
Want to see another FO? That was an easy question. Because you really don't have much choice unless you quickly click away from my blog. :) Here is Christmas present #1 for the year. It's amazing how even one little dishcloth can make you feel like you've accomplished something!
I know I had another question (not about copyrighting), but I can't think of it right now. By the way, yesterday's tournament went well. Our team scored 6th overall in robot performance (up from 8th last year). We won't find out the overall scores, unfortunately. Only one team moves on to the nationals and one of my daughter's schoolmates is on the winning team. I was so proud of our team members. When the champions were announced, our kids jumped up clapping and yelling for the other team even though they were disappointed for themselves.
Oh, I remember my last question! A year or so ago, E's scouting group learned to knit. They were supposed to knit squares for a blanket for a crisis pregnancy center. One of the moms and I knit some squares, but it wasn't enough for a blanket. I knit a couple more, but it's still not enough. Someone told me I should throw them away and not worry about them. I feel that I should at least ask the other mom since she went to the trouble to knit them. What do you think?
oh no! don't throw away good knitting. Knit more squares! Make it a small blanket. Give it away.
I have no idea about the copyright questions but will look forward to answers from those who do!
Posted by: Bells | January 22, 2007 at 01:55 AM
email me and I will give you the link to a woman in the US who is collecting squares for Habitat for Humanity. All the people who move into a HFH house in her area receive a knitted blanket. You send the squares and she sews them up.
As for the copyright thing - it's beyond me.
Posted by: Ruth | January 22, 2007 at 03:22 AM
You should go over to thepatternslave.typepad.com and ask her any questions that you don't feel you have had answered, her husband is a patent attorney and gave a talk to the Atlanta Knitting Guild last march about knitting and copyright.
Posted by: Katey | January 22, 2007 at 07:18 AM
Uh, no answers about the copyright thing- but definitely don't throw out the squares!!!
Posted by: patti | January 22, 2007 at 07:46 AM
Aren't there a number of "squares for X" kind of organizations? I agree, throwing out knitting is kinda harsh. Esp. if those few squares could become part of something bigger elsewhere.
About the copyright thing? No clue, sorry. I cobble together patterns from everywhere all the time...which is kinda why I don't post any of them.
Posted by: Mary | January 22, 2007 at 08:17 AM
I wouldn't throw them out without talking to the other woman. She may want to use them for something else. I like the suggestion above for the HFH. If she'd like to keep her squares local, they could be made into critter blankets for the humane society or something. No clue on the copyright questions. I like the hat!
Posted by: Restless Knitter | January 22, 2007 at 08:45 AM
You do not need to "file" a copyright (maybe you are confusing copyright with trademark?), the mere fact that you wrote a pattern means that it is yours and nobody else can copy it. Keep in mind that a hat cannot be copyright, only the instructions to make the hat can be. So the mere fact that someone made a hat similar to yours does not mean that your instructions aren't yours and protected by copyright.
I use Creative Commons to put copyright notices to my pattern:
http://creativecommons.org/license/
Posted by: Lu | January 22, 2007 at 10:51 AM
In my area there is a group of sweet women that knit squares to make blankets for the red cross. These blankets are given to families that have lost their homes to a fire or other tragic events. My 4-H group knit a bunch of squares then donated them to this group for them to add to their blankets. It was a great event. Some of the women from the group agreed to meet with the kids and let them help in putting the blanket/afghan together.
It doesn't have to be Red Cross. There are probably other groups that do the same thing. Your squares could help them make one more blanket.
Posted by: knitting knitters | January 22, 2007 at 12:45 PM
Hi Beth! I have no idea about the copyright thing, but I love-love the hat you designed! I would say, publish the pattern with your copyright on it, then just go from there. If later someone contacts you and provides proof of earlier publishing of their own identical pattern, you can deal with it on that end.
Congratulations to the robotics teams! And, you could start your own blanket square drive. I would knit some!
Posted by: katie | January 22, 2007 at 04:54 PM
Don't throw any knitting away! Repurpose it.
The copyright thing... I was wondering that same thing. After you make something your own, it often does not resemble the original directions- its a new creation!
Posted by: Dana | January 22, 2007 at 05:27 PM
Not much in the way of advice on the copyright stuff...but I do love the hat!!
I would probably talk to the other mom before making any big decisions. She may have some thoughts on how to proceed. And you never know how people are going to react to things...
Posted by: Sheepish Annie | January 22, 2007 at 08:40 PM
Agreed on NOT throwing out the squares! If you don't feel great about the blanket they make, consider giving it to your local animal shelter. Some shelters don't take knitted blankets for fear of snagging in little claws, but others do, especially for declawed cats...so check, and they'll be put to good use.
Posted by: Anne K. | January 24, 2007 at 09:25 PM
I have a friend who designs her own patterns for the knitting classes she teaches. I believe she starts from a blank page or possibly adapts her basic pattern for a bag, hat, etc. I don't think she can adapt too closely from other patterns and still copyright it. It sounds like she sends off copies of the pattern with a nominal fee to either Library of Congress or a place that specifically registers patterns. Then she can mark it with her copyright. But I believe that even if you don't register the pattern, you can still put the copyright mark on it. It might be harder though to prove it's yours if someone duplicates it and you want to stop them. Lu's comment sounds correct to me on these things.
Posted by: Debby | January 26, 2007 at 11:55 AM