You are currently browsing the monthly archive for April 2011.
Lara Neel interviewed me last week about the topics below:
1) How/When I learned to knit;
2) How I chose the name “doilyhead”;
3) Charting lace;
4) Copyright issues;
5) Manifold cardigans
6) Other stuff.
The podcast of the interview will begin on May 8th, and can be listened to on your computer.
Meanwhile, to visit the site and listen to previous interviews (and get free patterns), go to:
Math4Knitters – Show For Week of April 24-30, 2011
OTHER NEWS
Clayton County Headquarters Library - Local Artists Display for March 2011 - Example 1 of Why Camera Phones Should Have Image Stabilization
Clayton County Headquarters Library - Local Artists Display for March 2011 - These pics might be replaced with the one the Head Librarian took...
INSTANT DOWNLOAD RESTORATION CONTINUES
The following links have been restored:
Erikas 601 – Models C and F Baby Blankets
Kaleidoscope Doily Inspired Beret
Ostrich Plumes and Pineapples Triangular Lace Shawl
All of the Mallins Patterns
Lotus Flower
Gloxiniaeflora
Jesien
WHY MY RECHARTS OF BEYER/Buch Verlag fuer die Frau Patterns are NOT Infringements
Manifold Cardigan Construction Idea/Method Not Protected
About a year ago I consulted a copyright attorney who specialized in the fashion industry. I emailed him a pdf of the instructions for the pattern, and also spoke with him at length by phone. In summary, he said that only the instructions that I wrote were protected, as a literary work, and that if someone else wanted to rewrite them and modify the charts, they would not be infringeing my copyright. I was not entirely surprised after reading the Copyright Office’s information on design patents. I know there is proposed legislation that may remedy this, but, as of this writing, it is still “proposed” legislation. More importantly, the point is that the Beyer/Buch Verlag fuer die Frau copyrights are violated only when they are republished as scans of the original charts and photos. In addition, since doilies and tablecloths are in fact “useful articles” rather than artistic works, they are not protected by copyright — even though they contain artistic designs. My previous (mis)understanding was that an artistic design within useful article is protected, but it is not, especially in the fashion industry — see first video link below.
In addition, a recent discussion on one of the Yahoo Groups related to knitting provided an example where two almost identical patterns for a shawl were discussed, and the unanimous conclusion voiced was that the pattern created later did no infringe the copyright of the earlier pattern — because the instructions were written differently and there were differences in the charts.
Interesting Video on Copyright
Finally, the below link was posted in the Ravelry Group “Copyright Matters”.
Johanna Blakely At USC
Related Topic
Larry Lessig: How Creativity is being strangled by the Law
In summary, since my recharts are different from the original scans in several ways, they are not infringements. The most significant difference being that repeated stitch groups are combined into one stitch group preceded by a number with an “x” that indicates how many times the group is to be repeated. A secondary difference is that the symbols are laid out differently in that they reflect, as much as possible, how the item is knitted, rather than what the finished item looks like. Thirdly, the patterns always include corrections, and now often include written instructions and stitch counts. A fourth difference is that multiple consecutive “knit 1” symbols are replaced by numbers indicating how many stitches to knit plain.
Therefore, I will be posting links to instant downloads of the following Beyer/Verlag fuer die Frau patterns:
Nachtschatten
Tannenzapfen
Eichenlaub
Roswitha
Pomegranate
Fruehling (Kunststrickmuster 1514)
Angelica
Schwertlillie (when someone test knits it because using the original photo would be a copyright violation)
Lyra (written instructions only)
To see when they become available, check the left sidebar of this blog or visit my e-junkie store.
The instant downloads restored so far are:
Erikas 601 baby blanket,
Kaleidoscope doily berets,
All the Mallins doilies,
Meyers Maiglockchen
Will try to continue tomorrow…
Meanwhile, was hurrying when I took the photo below (so edges did not get straightened); also need to edit the pattern file to add how to extend the small leaf ground before the border:
Glockenblume – Linen – Size 5 Needles – 27″ per side (1″ each border)
Doilyhead's Blog 