A lot of artists are now saying why buy the pattern at all, if your hands are tied as far as selling it? Just another can of worms caused by the Internet.
Yesterday I felt like I was in an awkward position. One of the knitters had made a beautiful sweater from a pattern in a magazine. She offered to copy the pattern and give it to all of us. She was counting hands to see who wanted it. I said I'll have to pass because of copyright issues. The rest of them said I was incorrect. Well, magazines are copyrighted last I checked, as is the pattern. Whether the designer holds the copyright or the magazine does, I'm sure someone does. Yes, even if it is an old magazine.
None of us like these rules when they are not in our favor. But as a knitwear designer, when I sell a pattern, I would want to protect my rights. And so I want to protect the rights of other artists everywhere.
After knitting, I went to Burning House and worked on my marionettes and my rain chain. I had a lovely talk with some of the people there about hypnosis and metaphysics. And I got four of my pots back that had been fired last week. So a productive day all around.
