Can I Sell The Items That I Make From A Paid Pattern? --Question Asked
This is a question that always tends to get me upset. As an Etsy regular and I’m on Craftsy, I see this a lot. Patterns marked stating that you may not sell the finished product. Or ask permission to sell the finished product after selling the pattern.
You know what that tells me? The seller is trying to have her cake and eat it too. They want to profit on the sale of the pattern and still be able to sell the completed product in their store. NO. You can’t do that.
First off, when you purchase a pattern, you can’t take that pattern and covet it as your own. However, the copyright ends with the pattern. The person selling the pattern can’t tell you what to do with the finished product of the pattern.
This is the ridiculousness that I see on Etsy all the time. This is the stuff that people try to copyright.
These blankets are very nicely made, however they have trademarked images in them. How in the world are you going to sell the pattern for an image that YOU don’t OWN YOURSELF? And then try to make money off of? When did you have a billion dollars to buy and purchase the rights to Mickey Mouse? Right. I don’t think so. But this is the nonsense that I see. And then there is always that ridiculous disclaimer at the end, “You may not sell items made from this pattern. I will prosecute.”
GOOD LUCK WITH THAT LADY. You are going to prosecute me when you’re selling items with Mickey Mouse on them. You better hope that Disney doesn’t come after you!
This is a plain garter stitch scarf and shawl. Are you seriously going to tell me that you’re going to take this “pattern” and then tell me that I can’t sell this? What did you do differently? Did you invent garter stitch items? But I’ve seen this nonsense over and over again on Etsy and Craftsy and even Ravelry. HOWever, someone out there is going to try and “copyright” something so simple and try to make a buck off it when they didn't create this. IN fact, there is nothing to create here. Its a scarf and a shawl. Yet, trust me. They are out there.
The law is not with you here. You can’t tell someone what to do with the finished product of a pattern that you produced. However, there are some that think that they are just brighter than the rest of us and won’t get caught. For example..
I’ve even seen someone take this pattern, which premiered in Vogue Knitting, and take it for herself, selling the pattern and the finished item in her Etsy store. What did she do different? She changed the collar around but made the pattern pretty much word for word, and dared to threaten others for taking her work. Something that she stole off Vogue. Did she not think that the rest of us would recognize this work? This is one of my favorites when I first saw it. But many people think that they are simply smarter than the average bear and lo and behold, they’ve reinvented the wheel…by tweaking the design a bit. LOL
There is an exception, however. Let’s say you create an Intarsia pattern that is an original by you. Artwork that you’ve created. The artwork is protected and you can copyright that item and others won’t be able to reproduce and sell it.
If you don't want people to be able to produce what you make, then don’t sell the pattern. You can’t have it both ways but many will try to.
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