Photocopying patterns for sale is illegal : eBay Guides

   I am bothered by seeing so many listings for photocopied patterns.  Copyright laws allow the buyer of the pattern to make a photocopy for his own personal use only, in order to write or mark it without destroying the original pattern.  You cannot make a copy for a friend, and you definitely cannot make multiple copies and sell them.  This is stealing from the author of the pattern.  Even vintage patterns cannot be copied without permission from the original copyright owner.  There may be a few old patterns out there that were not copyrighted, and they would be called public domain, but those are few and far between.  A designer owns the patterns that he or she creates, the same as a book or movie.  It is not fair for someone who had nothing to do with the creative process at all to copy and make money off them.  If you find someone selling photocopies, report them to e-bay, as it is strictly against e-bay policy.  Do not buy them.  And if you order patterns and receive photocopies, report that too, for you have been ripped off. 

Another thing I see that is very similar is for Cross-stitch patterns that have been computer generated from a scanned picture.  Usually these pictures are not the original work of the seller, merely pictures from books or magazines.  Again this is a copyright violation.  You cannot scan a picture, photo, drawing, painting, or poster, and make a pattern out of it, unless you own the copyright for that item.  You cannot capture a picture from a video and make a pattern from it either.

Please, we must respect our creative individuals and give them credit for their work.  They work hard to create the artwork that fills our lives with beauty, and they deserve any money that is made from their work.  Do not steal their pictures or patterns.  Do not buy them if you see them.  It will end by putting many designers out of business in the long run, and we will all miss them.  Patterns are not that expensive, so buy only originals