Question on Out of Print Patterns

[simplycrochet]

Where do you go to find out if a pattern is out of print? Is their some place online I can look?

Thanks!

[Amy]

Where do you go to find out if a pattern is out of print? Is their some place online I can look?

Thanks!

 

You'd probably need to check with the original publisher of the pattern. Of course, don't forget that even out of print patterns are protected by copyright law.

[vonnie]

I check out Amazon, also half.com ebay also is a place to check...good luck You might be able to put on here for a search for sale, not sure if you can do that?

[simplycrochet]

Thanks for the quick response to my question. I had noticed a person on esty had the same crochet booklet for sell from the 60's that I also have. Only she is selling the patterns in pdf form and not the original booklet That is why I was wondering how to tell or how find if a pattern or pattern booklet is out of print.

[Amy]

Thanks for the quick response to my question. I had noticed a person on esty had the same crochet booklet for sell from the 60's that I also have. Only she is selling the patterns in pdf form and not the original booklet That is why I was wondering how to tell or how find if a pattern or pattern booklet is out of print.

 

Your question isn't really about whether or not something is out of print. Even if a pattern or book is no longer in print, it's usually still under copyright protection for quite a few more years.

 

What you really want to know is when a copyrighted item loses its copyright protection and is considered to be in the "public domain," which means that anybody can distribute it, however they wish. (Which is why several different book publishers are able to publish their own editions of books written 150 years ago, for example. But why Publisher B can't publish their own edition of a book Publisher A copyrighted 30 years ago.)

 

It's possible that the booklet is in the public domain, which would mean there isn't any problem with this person selling the patterns. This website gives very good information on when a copyrighted item will fall into the public domain. Of course, it's also very possible that the pattern booklet is NOT in the public domain yet.

 

But we can't rely on just "thinking" that something is in the public domain. You actually have to go search back through all the copyright renewal records to see if the copyright was renewed. This can be a very time-consuming process if you do it yourself, or very expensive if you pay a firm to do it for you. However, as more and more old renewal records are being made available online, it will be much easier for people to determine whether or not something is still under copyright protection.

[simplycrochet]

Wow this is sure a complicated issue. I guess it is best to leave it alone. Thanks for your help.

CL

[craftybutterfly]

Wow this is sure a complicated issue. I guess it is best to leave it alone. Thanks for your help.

CL

 

I'm with you. If you ask 50 different people a specific copyrights question, you'll likely get 40 different answers. Too many gray areas.

[Addey]

It really is a shame that copyright law has to be so complicated. I'm sure there could be ways to make it easier, and clearer, but there are just too many exceptions to the rule. I'm just glad we've got someone like Amy around to gently remind us where the line is and keep us thinking about it and respecting the IP rights of other creative souls. I just wish everyone would be that nice about it so we didn't have to have the confusing laws in the 1st place.