what’s the deal with the rights to patterns, especially those published in magazines?

Hi everyone,

I’ve been wanting to know this for a long time.
What if you build on a pattern from a pattern magazine? Basically, building on someone else’s idea without knowing who came up with the original idea?

Let me quickly explain what this is about:
I found a crocheted tunic on Pinterest. It came in various crocheted variations. Eventually, I found a screenshot of a foreign crochet chart (a bit of text was visible—Portuguese or something like that), so the pattern was clear. But there were no stitch counts or anything else. Then, in a magazine, I found a design that was similar in shape; both designs stated that they could only be crocheted in one size. So I took the straps from one pattern and the pattern and increases from the other, mixed the two together, and optimized them so that the piece can be crocheted in different sizes. In this case, it was originally size 36/38, and I’ve now managed to make it in size 42/44 (other sizes are certainly possible as well).

  I’m sure many people would love my optimized pattern. But I have serious concerns about whether I might be infringing on someone else’s intellectual property rights. Especially since, as I said, I don’t even know who the original creator is.
Can anyone give me some advice on this?                              

Hi Anja,

this is a very difficult topic.
Only a specialist lawyer can give you a reliable answer to your question.

If the basic pattern comes from a pattern booklet, you should be able to identify the copyright holder through the publisher.
I’d be cautious with things from Pinterest, since some users there get up to quite a bit of mischief when it comes to copyright.
As the saying goes: “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.”

As I said, only a specialist lawyer can tell you whether and how you might be infringing on the rights of others.

Best regards, Mario