Bead Devil
Bead Devil #1
Jan 30, 2005, 8:12 PM
Post #1 of 1
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This is another copyright message that was deleted. It referred to a person who used a "free" pattern, but then refused to sell the finished item to her sister, because it said non-commercial use only.
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This message is from Beadwork. It was forwarded to you by BADBOYOFBEAD.
You can view it in the context of the entire discussion by going to:
http://forums.about.com/ab-beadwork/messages/?msg=15316.1
=======================Forwarded Message=======================
Strictly speaking, if the pattern was free to use, making something, then selling it, as a one-off, is perfectly legal.
Additional use of the pattern, would depend on the rights that were granted with it.
People often give out artwork with all sorts of various restrictions, some are valid, some arenot.
Public Domain: Means that any use at all is permitted.
Copyrighted Public Domain: Often seen in software, means you may use it, without restriction, but can't claim it as your own, or do other nasty things to it.
Free to use: Usually means it's copyrighted, you can't claim it as your own, but you can use it commercially or non commercially.
Non-commercial use: That is a hard one. On the surface it seems obvious, but as this discussion shows, it may not be.
The use that started this thread is technically non-commercial. I would believe most courts would view it as such. But, it's a grey area, and each instance would need to be taken on it's own merit. Usually, this is taken as selling the item by itself or in a collection, making multiple items from a pattern and selling them, etc. Making one item, and selling it outside of a business environment is not looked upon as commercial use. Most courts would reject this type of claim, since it opens a proverbial can of worms, and would accomplish nothing but bogging down the court system.
"Commercial Use" has meaning, and what that meaning is depends on the court, the market, and the type of product.
No one description will apply in all cases. Simply getting money for something is *not* COMMERCIAL use. After all, what is being paid for.
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The Bead Devil
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