WAHM chatall the ins and outs of being a Work At Home Mom, how to get popcorn out of your keyboard/printer, and when not to send that invoice with the scribble.
Some of you remember that I sometimes sell bendy dolls here. I asked a fellow wahm a few months ago if she thought it was legal for me to sell them .. since they were not my own creation but taken from instructions from the book Felt Weefolk. She believed that it would be legal as long as I did not use the patterns in the book for clothing the dolls. Those patterns do not fit my bendies so I created my own. However.. my bendies do look very much the same as the ones in the book.
I have recently been informed that the bendy instructions are copywrited and that I can not sell the dolls. I do not know if this is true but I need to make certain before I throw in the towel. I don't understand how instructions to a craft can be copywrited. I can't copyright my lanterns. I know that other wahms sell bendies on their websites .. but these bendies are not as detailed as the ones I make so do not look so much like the bendies from Felt Weefolk.
Can someone clue me in? I don't want to do anything illegal.
Thanks
edited for spelling duh
__________________
~ Sherrie ~
Loving my 5 sons
My 20 year high school reunion and my daredevil son, Keaton, getting stitches in the E.R.....AGAIN!
Some people are like slinkies. Not really good for anything but they bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs.
Last edited by freespiritmom : 04-22-2004 at 02:18 PM.
Camie's dh knows a TON about copyright issues. Hopefully she'll see this thread. Or, go do a search at Mama Drama - seriously. There was a great thread there about copyright issues and it had a lot of info with links.
I don't know a whole lot about copyrights, but I *think* if there's a copyright on the instructions, it's limited to the instructions. So, you couldn't have a website and sell thier instructions claiming them as your own. Does that make any sense?
Again, I'm no expert so I could be way off.
__________________ I've Been BOO'D!!!!
~Sarah~Single Momma to Reese~ 4-30-02~ My Feedback!
The book Felt Weefolk states that the clothing patterns can be copied for home use only. And of course the book has a copywrite on it's contents so one can not reproduce it in any form. But it states nothing about actually using the instructions to create dolls for sell. It seems that the dolls themselves are not copyrighted.. But I still want to know for certain. We all know what happens when we ASSume? lol
~Sherrie
Last edited by freespiritmom : 04-22-2004 at 02:45 PM.
Why don't you just contact the author and ask what you are and are not allowed to do. That's always the safest route to go. If they say yes, you have a record of their permission. At worst, they say no and thank you for your forethought in asking (which is always appreciated).
"patterns can be copied for home use only" - this is a bit ambiguous and I would ask for clarification. Whether it means the PATTERN cannot be copied and distributed or whether it means the pattern can only be USED for personal dolls. That is, whether they are referring here to
A> copyright on the presentation of the pattern
B> patent on the design of the doll
(doubtful if these types of dolls have been produced for decades; common general knowledge. i.e. You can't patent beeswax candles.)
There's a huge difference. If it's the design, ask them for the patent number so you can verify it (USPTO.gov) I would think if they did have a patent, they would state it.
The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
Any products mentioned are not intended to treat, cure, mitigate or prevent any disease.
She sells her dolls from her site and also has doll kits that she sells...
so, perhaps, if your dolls look that much like hers, you could make some changes to your dolls so as to not be doing almost identical dolls?
__________________ ~Selena~
Mama to Daniel (5/00), Anna (5/02) & Chloe (11/05) All natural soaps, essential oils, lotions, butters, perfumes, salves and more at Motherhues!
Embroidery designs, Waldorf Inspired Doll Pattern and Handsewn Felt at Madebymotherhues.
Would you like to read my blog?
Thanks so much for all the info. I was told by someone this morning that they contacted her after getting the book and asked about reproducing her dolls. The author said that they are only for home use, and that she will issue a special liscence for a one time only charity event. I'm not reading this info in the book though there are a few statements regarding copyrights that have me confused about their meaning. If someone here has the book could you take a peek and see if you are understanding it differently?
I have spent an hour researching copyrights that belong to her. She has books copyrighted.. that's all I can find. The book Felt Wee Folk contains no mention of the dolls having a patent.
Mamabear ~ My dolls are created using instructions identical to hers. But there are also sites on-line that offer these instructions..not written by her.
I'm not quite sure how to make them "different" . I don't think that how I paint their faces could be considered "coping" her work but I think that this one detail makes our dolls look so similar. I did get my ideas for embroidery work on their clothes from the book.. another detail that makes mine look so much like hers.
I have done some research on copyrighting crafts.. and it is so broad. Some original handmade crafts can in fact have a copywrite..but I can't find any info regarding whether these bendy dolls fall into that category.
I have a bunch of these dolls that I was planning to sell.. so now I just don't know what to do. blah!
Information specialists are on duty to answer questions by phone from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., eastern time, Monday-Friday, except federal holidays. Recorded information is also available.
From what I understand the actual patterns are copywrited, but what you create from them is not. But you can call and ask, I'm sure they are open.
hth!
__________________
~Meg~ teacher, podcaster, but mostly sahm to my trio of little women (4, 6, 17)wife to Mr Big and dog-ma to Indy the crazy miniature golden retriever
Don't know if you saw it already, but here's the thread at MD (am I going to get into trouble for linking? Really I am trying to be helpful!!): LINK
And I won't cut and paste... *lol* But scroll down and watch for posts from ButterCup - that's Camie and her DH and seriously he makes some amazing points.
thanks nutmeg.. I will call in just a minute.. that should put my mind to rest about it.
snowflake. I tried searching at md but didn't know what forum to search in and couldn't figure out how to do a search in all forums. I'll check the link now. thank you for taking the time to provide it for me.
I had the same question a couple of months back about patterns so I contact the copywrite office in Washington, DC. This is the e-mail I received from them.
-----Original Message-----
From: Copyright Information [mailto:copyinfo@loc.gov]
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2004 2:53 PM
To: wendy@homes.com
Subject: Re: general copyright buying a pattern
Copyright in a pattern normally pertains to the pattern itself, not to the object that you construct from the pattern. If the pattern, however, includes original artwork that would be incorporated into the work you make, then you may need permission to use it commercially. An example of that would be a needlework pattern depicting original artwork. An example of the opposite would be a dress pattern: the dress you make from the pattern is not subject to copyright protection.
**********************************
Copyright Office
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave SE
Washington DC 20559
(202) 707-3000 www.copyright.gov
This tells me that if the item is not LICENSED, then you are allowed to make the item and sell it for profit.
Wendy
__________________
Wife to Robert and Mother to Emily Marie (7/31/02) and Mara Nicole (10/31/05)
Thank you Wendy for including the email from the copyright office.
Meg.. They were closed when I called yesterday..I'm calling them now.
What I learned:
Basically I can legally make and sell the bendy dolls. The lady I spoke with used "teddy bears" as an example. She said that they receive thousands of registrations each year for teddy bear copyrights..and most of them are created in much the same fashion..if not exactly. You can not copyright the process/instuctions of making a teddy bear.. same thing with the bendy dolls. The instructions of the wire frame construction can't be copyrighted. The embellishments added are up to the crafter. In order for it to be illegal someone would have to take a person's original craft and intentionally duplicate it *exactly* and then sell it. But it's a broad area in regards to dolls/teddy bears. She said I would need to speak to an attorney for more specifics but that basically I was not doing anything illegal.
She also said that many people will send letters .. even from attorneys.. asking others to refrain from selling crafts that closely resemble their own. She said that this was mainly an attempt to intimidate and eliminate competition. She said something about feeling sorry for the courts if people actually tried to push the issue further than just a letter of warning.
I was also wondering about a possible patent being on the bendy fairies and she said that this would not be possible. Patents are only given for inventions... and I assume from what I heard today that the bendy doll frame would not fall under inventions.
Linear Mode
