I have been watching the now-settled legal battle between Emily Cier / C&T and Kate Spain like a hawk. C&T is also my publisher, Emily could just as easily have been me. And still could be. For my book, I credited the designer and manufacturer when known and gained permission to use most of the [...]
{ What’s in a selvedge? (How to spot the fakes on etsy) by rastis100 on Flickr; used with permission. } I interrupt this regular column to alert you to a problem that has recently come to my attention: counterfeit Japanese fabric. I found out about this when I inadvertently posted a ripoff print in this [...]
I knew the alleged Kokka copying of a Helen Dardik design had to be a fluke — Kokka has a great reputation for integrity, and they have an abundance of original, insanely talented, and forward-thinking designers. Copying is just way, way below them. I received a copy of an email exchange with Kokka from a [...]
Tula Pink copied by unknown Wal-Mart supplier Very Denyse-Schmidt-Flea-Market-Fancy-looking but not Denyse-Schmidt-sanctioned tights at Anthropologie, via Film in the Fridge This Kokka print is extremely derivative of a Helen Dardik design. And, I just happen to be working on a post about low-quality ripoffs of Kokka prints. There are always more players in the supply [...]
Retail shop owners recently received a letter from Westminster Fabrics informing them of a new policy that will take effect February 1, 2009. This policy forbids shops from advertising prices for Westminster and Freespirit brand fabrics below the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP), which is 2x the wholesale price. They cannot advertise prices lower than [...]
The previously posted dispute between Marimekko and Dolce & Gabbana has been settled in Marimekko’s favor. A no-brainer if I ever saw one! According to this news story, D&G will be paying Marimekko for using the famous (and copyrighted) Unikko pattern. (via the Marimekko Blog)
Here’s what inspired psychedelic week on the Daily Swatch: this new Beatles fabric line from Cranston Village. eQuilter has the entire collection for sale now, and I bet it’ll be a huge seller. If you see it elsewhere, please link to in the comments. The descriptions of the fabric on eQuilter contain the following: from [...]
We’ve been through this a few years ago with Amy Butler — a blogger found a vintage tablecloth by an anonymous designer that Ms. Butler reworked for one of her quilting fabric lines. Ms. Butler turned out to be extremely gracious and open amidst the controversy and transparent about her process, and I learned a [...]
There is a trademark dispute between Marimekko and Dolce & Gabbana over Marimekko’s signature Unikko floral pattern: news story, Marimekko blog post. I don’t think there is any question of Unikko’s origins; maybe it’s more about the legal technicalities of trademark ownership? I’ll be interested to know how this turns out … I can’t imagine [...]
Hello Kitty. Turns out you can make things and sell them from fabric bearing licensed characters. My previous posts here and on Whipup about fabric legalities garnered lots of interesting comments. People are all over the map with their opinions. One new thing I learned: I assumed that fabric printed with licensed logos/characters were in [...]
Today Boing Boing threw in its two cents about one of my favorite contentious issues, fabric and copyright (our prior discussion here), and it caused all sorts of turmoil. Here’s what happened: 1. Boing Boing takes issue with Heather Ross for releasing a fabric designated with “for personal sewing projects only. This print cannot be [...]
I’ve been wondering about copyright laws as they apply to fabric. The question of interest to probably most of us: is it legal to use fabric to create something that you turn around and sell with your own label on it? Internet research yields some enlightenment. I know some designers (e.g. Munki Munki) specify that [...]
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