Copyright question

[donnalynn2]

We all have seen the "free" patterns on the back of some skeins of yarn, right? Well, I don't know about you, but I hate trying to read the tiny little print and such... I was thinking about posting those "free" patterns on my site so that others don't have to strain to read the patterns either... Anyone know if I can "legally" do this? I certainly won't claim it's my own and will make sure to post where I found the pattern. Many of these are not found on the yarns websites... THANKS!

[Stacey]

I don't believe you can do that legally without written permission from the copyright holder--but it would be perfectly legal to take the label to a photocopier and make yourself an oversized copy so you personally don't have to get eyestrain from reading it That falls under personal use, so it's okay, but to distribute it you'd need permission...

 

Hope that helps!

[crochet smartcat]

I have seen something somewhere addressing this issue, but don't remember where. You can write and sometimes receive permission to post it, but usually it needs to be an exact reproduction (like a scanned copy) rather than a retyped copy. Therefore they are not responsible for any errors you may make in retyping the pattern. Most companies will not let you rewrite the pattern and post it for public use, for this reason.

 

Also they do not necessarily see the pattern as being free, because you must purchase the yarn in order to get the pattern. It is not like the pattern sheets you can pick up in the stores for free. Just my 2 cents though.

[CatsCradleCreations]

I don't believe you can do that legally without written permission from the copyright holder--but it would be perfectly legal to take the label to a photocopier and make yourself an oversized copy so you personally don't have to get eyestrain from reading it That falls under personal use, so it's okay, but to distribute it you'd need permission...

 

Hope that helps!

 

Unfortunately, because of the redistribution problems that abound today, most photocopy shops will not reproduce a copyrighted piece, even if you tell them you only want one copy for personal use.

 

Your best bet would be to either contact the yarn company and request a large-print version (believe me, I feel your pain with the small print) or scan the label into your computer and print a larger copy for yourself.

 

I definitely wouldn't post it to your site unless you have express written permission from the yarn company to do so. Even then, I would be very careful--scanning and posting the scan is probably the best thing to do rather than retyping. As it is, those patterns already state that they are not responsible for errors that may be contained in the patterns.

[fruggs]

Many of the free lable patterns are on the yarn company's website. What I do is print the pattern ans put the yarn band picture with it. then you can mke it any size you want. You could probably provide links to the yarn company's website on your site next to a picture..