Layers of Meaning

No Copyright for Quilt Techniques

There is an odd misconception in the quilt world that a technique can be one quilter's private (copyrighted) property. You may have a very cool way of doing borders, yet you cannot 'copyright' this and force all others to pay homage to you as supreme border maker. (But wouldn't it be cool if you could?)

Basics: patents, copyrights, trade secrets and trademarks are all part of a larger entity called "intellectual property".

Copyright protects an artist's right to expression. If you create and original picture, poem, or song, it is protected by copyright.

Patents cover process or techniques.

Here's the official U.S. Government's explanation:
Copyright - An Author's Expression:
A copyright is an exclusive right to reproduce an original work of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, to prepare derivative works based upon the original work, and to perform or display the work in the case of musical, dramatic, choreographic, and sculptural works.

Copyright protection does not extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, or embodied. Rather, copyright protection is limited to an author s particular expression of an idea, process, concept, and the like in a tangible medium.

"The kinds of works covered by copyright include: literary works such as novels, poems, plays, reference works, newspapers and computer programs; databases; films, musical compositions, and choreography; artistic works such as paintings, drawings, photographs and sculpture; architecture; and advertisements, maps and technical drawings."

"Patents: Article 27 of the TRIPS Agreement provides that WTO member states shall provide patents for any invention, either a product or a process for creating a product, 'provided that they are new, involve an inventive step, and are capable of industrial application.' In other words, to be patentable, an invention must be novel, useful, and nonobvious..."

To summarize, copyright covers artistic expression; patent covers a process.
- Making a border is a process;
- Sewing a curve is a process;
- Doing embroidery is a process.

If a stitch artist believes that they have invented a "novel, useful, and nonobvious" way of sewing a border, they can apply for a patent to protect the process.

If that same stitch artist writes up a sheet on how to make their favorite type of border, they can copyright that sheet of instructions and the way they have phrased it (some folks have a gift with words) or illustrated it. But the process itself is not protected copyright.

So - the question remains - what is uniquely yours and how to protect your expressions? Knitty has some further explanations and ideas: " We've already discussed the notion of a sweater as a copyrightable work of artistic craftsmanship. If we accept that this store sweater is such a thing, then yes, it's protected by copyright. And yes, publishing instructions telling other people how to replicate it may be a form of authorizing or counselling infringement.

By the way, copyright aside, there are other ways to protect a sweater design. It could be the subject of an industrial design, also known as a registered design or a design patent. Such registered designs can offer more definite protection than copyright, and there's no fair dealing or fair use defence. However, registered designs are more expensive to obtain than copyright, and of shorter duration. A sweater design could also be protected through unregistered design or trademark rights if the designer could prove she was known for or associated with a certain style of design"

Notice - what Knitty is addressing is a design, not a process!