COPYRIGHT
Click here to see our frequently asked questions.
Plain and Simple
Since our software allows you to become the designer, we often get asked about copyright. Copyright can be extremely complex and laws vary from country to country. We will try to keep this page as simple as possible. And, most importantly, we thank you for respecting the rights of creative professionals everywhere.
Copyright is simply the right to copy. This means that the original creator of a design is the only one with the right to reproduce the work. Many EQ users want to know if they can use EQ software to design blocks and quilts and sell patterns.
If your intention is to design blocks, quilts, and patterns for public distribution and/or sale, the first step is to determine if you need to ask for permission. If you need permission, then you need to identify the owner and communicate directly with the owner for permission.
Blocks and Quilts included with EQ8
The blocks and quilts (Quick Quilts) installed with EQ8 software are copyright free. Electric Quilt Company does not hold copyright to the blocks or quilt designs that come with EQ8 software, and as a registered user of EQ8 software, you are free to design, distribute, or publish any block or quilt in EQ8 without asking for permission. This does not permit distribution of collections of blocks or block patterns.
For other EQ software packages, see specific product below.
Printed Patterns from EQ8
Any patterns printed from EQ8 using the blocks and quilts installed with EQ8 software are also copyright free and permission to use them is not required.
However, this does not entitle EQ8 users to reproduce and distribute collections of the block patterns from the EQ8 Block Library in any way, including on the internet. This is strictly prohibited. For example, you cannot print or save templates, foundation patterns, or rotary cutting charts of blocks from the EQ8 Block Library and sell them as individual PDFs or printed copies in your shop or online store. Quilt patterns that you design for commercial use must include written assembly instructions for the quilt in order to include printed block patterns from the EQ8 Block Library.
Be sure to read An Additional Note below about printed patterns.
Though not required, Electric Quilt Company appreciates acknowledgment as the pattern printing source on patterns printed for distribution.
For other EQ software packages, see specific product below.
Projects of the Month
These projects are designed by Heidi Kory for personal use only. They are to be enjoyed exclusively by our EQ users. They may not be distributed to others.
When in Doubt, Ask Permission
It’s always a good rule of thumb to ask permission if you’re in doubt about a design. The Electric Quilt Company sells many additional add-on products to give you more blocks and quilts in your EQ8 software. You need to confirm that a block or quilt has been installed with the original EQ8 software or if it is a copyrighted design that was installed as an additional purchase. The Notecard for the design will display the copyright if it exists.
Here’s a block from the EQ8 Block Library installed with EQ8. No permission is required. Click the Notecard button to verify.
Here’s a block from an additional purchase that was installed to the EQ8 Block Library. Click the Notecard button to verify. Permission is required to use this block and contact information is included.
Here is an example of an EQ8 project with several quilts. Click on a quilt and then click the Edit Notecard button to display the copyright.
Adding Your Copyright
If you draw an original block design (not a copy of someone else’s design) from scratch using EQ8, then you are the original creator and own the copyright to the design.
Use the Notecard feature of EQ8 to add your copyright statement to the design. This is usually done with a copyright symbol, name, and year. Adding your contact information is a good idea as well.
If you design an original quilt (not a copy of someone else’s quilt) from scratch using the blocks from the EQ8 Library, be sure to check the notecards of all the blocks for a copyright statement. Remember, our first recommendation is when in doubt, ask permission!
An Additional Note About Creating Patterns and Claiming Copyright
The Electric Quilt Company does not guarantee the results of use of the software or any related content such as pattern printouts in terms of correctness, accuracy, reliability, or completeness. The entire risk of duplication and distribution of content from EQ8 is assumed by the EQ8 user and the responsibility of verification of printed patterns for size, fabric requirements, etc. rests solely on the EQ8 user producing the work.
SOFTWARE
EQ8 Software
EQ8 software from Electric Quilt Company is copyrighted by the Electric Quilt Company. Users of EQ8 software may not lend, lease, rent, sublicense, or otherwise distribute any portion of EQ8 software. It is software piracy to do so.
ElectricQuilt.com
All images and text from our website are property of the Electric Quilt Company unless otherwise noted. You must write for permission to use images or text, especially any images or text of EQ8. If you are building your own web store to sell our products, you may borrow, without writing for permission, images or text from the Products area for any products except EQ8.
AccuQuilt Add-on Series
Blocks: The blocks included in each AccuQuilt add-on are copyright free. Lori Miller, AccuQuilt, and the Electric Quilt Company do not hold copyright to the blocks included with these products. As an owner of this product(s), you are free to design, distribute, or publish any block without asking for permission. This does not permit distribution of collections of blocks and/or block printouts from EQ software.
Quilts: Quilt designs are © Lori Miller Designs 2024.
PDF Resources: © Lori Miller Designs 2024. The PDF Resources are for personal use only. You may not share, distribute, or use these materials for teaching purposes without permission from Lori Miller of LoriMillerDesigns.com.
Software: The Electric Quilt Company holds copyright to the EQ software. You may not lend or copy the software.
BlockBase Software (original version, 1994)
BlockBase+ Software (released in March 2021)
For any commercial use of block patterns such as creating a quilt pattern using the blocks, consult the original pattern source and date as listed in the software with each individual block. Many of the original sources no longer exist or have dates that grant entry to the public domain. If there is no date, assume the block is in public domain. (Check here for further information about when different works enter the public domain.) Reproducing and distributing collections of the block patterns from the software in any way, including on the internet, is strictly prohibited.
Dear Jane Software
The Dear Jane software is copyrighted by Electric Quilt Company. The block designs in the Dear Jane Add-on for EQ8 (and original Dear Jane software on CD) come from the Dear Jane book by Brenda Papadakis and are copyrighted by Brenda Papadakis and intended for personal use. The block designs are protected under copyright laws and are not to be photocopied, duplicated, or reproduced without the permission of Brenda Papadakis.
Boutique Blocks Software
All boutique designs are copyrighted by the designer of that collection. Consult the Notecards for the appropriate copyright statement.
Classic Appliqué Blocks Software
Baltimore Album, Folk Art Blocks and 1920’s & 1930’s
All blocks are copyright free.
EQ Stash Online Software
All fabric designs are copyrighted by their respective fabric manufacturers. You may use these fabric swatches to color your EQ-designed quilts and blocks for publication. You may not use these swatches as web backgrounds or for other image needs. Please contact the fabric manufacturer with further questions on permission of use.
Karen K. Stone Quilts and Karen K. Stone More Quilts Software
All designs are copyrighted by Karen K. Stone and intended for personal use. The written instructions and designs are protected under copyright laws and are not to be photocopied, duplicated, or reproduced by any means for commercial use.
Kimberly Einmo’s Jelly Roll Quilt Magic, Jelly Roll Quilts and More, Clever Combo Quilts & More Software
All designs are copyrighted by Kimberly Einmo and intended for personal use. The designs are protected under copyright laws and are not to be photocopied, duplicated, or reproduced by any means for commercial use. Teachers may use the information to teach if they give credit to Kimberly Einmo. Copyright law forbids teachers from reproducing any part of the printed material for distribution to students. Students wanting a copy of the pattern or technique will need to purchase this software. The Electric Quilt Company holds copyright to the software itself, which means you may not lend or copy the software.
Judy Martin Stars & Sets and Judy Martin Star Power Software
Blocks and quilts in Judy Martin’s Stars & Sets and Judy Martin’s Star Power are original designs copyrighted by Judy Martin and intended for personal use. Some of the blocks in the Alternate Block Library and some of the sashes in the quilts are in the public domain. Check Notecards for specifics.
Selling, Publishing, and Displaying Quilts: Judy permits you to make and sell or give away quilts using her block and quilt designs as long as you are not involved in their mass production. Judy also permits you to publicly display your projects made using her block and quilt designs, as long as you credit Judy Martin’s STARS & SETS or Judy Martin’s STAR POWER for the inspiration or design. You may publish a photograph or submit a photograph of your work for publication in print or on a website. This use requires that you give appropriate credit to Judy Martin’s STARS & SETS or Judy Martin’s STAR POWER. If the project appears with a pattern, you will need Judy Martin’s permission prior to publication.
Classes and Raffle Quilts: Judy Martin permits the free distribution of a limited number of block patterns for the purpose of 1) making quilts to raffle or auction for the benefit of nonprofit groups or 2) teaching quilt making classes. In these cases, the handouts must include the following notice: Copyright Judy Martin 1983- from Judy Martin’s Stars & Sets or Judy Martin’s Star Power, used with permission.
Original Quilt with Judy Martin Blocks: If you design an original quilt based on one or more of Judy Martin’s blocks or quilts, and you wish to publish the pattern in print or on the internet, you need to ask permission.
Kaleidoscope Collection
All blocks, except those in the first style titled “Basics,” are copyrighted by Andrea Bishop and intended for personal use.
Rock That Quilt Block
All designs are copyrighted by Linda J. Hahn and Deborah G. Stanley and intended for personal use.
Quilting Designs: The Quiltmaker Collection Volumes 1-8
Permission to use the designs is granted for personal and professional purposes, as well as permission to digitize the designs for use in a computerized quilting system. Digitizing these designs for sale and mass production of these designs is prohibited.
Longarm quilters have permission to use these designs on their customers’ quilts, but cannot give the customer a copy of the pattern used. We require the use of the following credit: Used with permission. Copyright Quiltmaker.
Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Collections
Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Copyrighted by Creative Crafts Group, 2009-2012.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any language without written permission of Quiltmaker is prohibited. No one may copy, reprint, or distribute any of the patterns or material for commercial use without written permission of the publisher. Templates and patterns may be printed as necessary to make quilts for personal use only.
Quilts made from any element of a Quiltmaker pattern may be publicly displayed at quilt shows or donated to charity with credit given appropriately in the following form: “Block Name, #blocknumber, designed by Designer’s Name. Pattern appears in Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks, Volume X. Quiltmaker.com.”
BOOKS
EQ8, EQ7, EQ6, EQ5, EQ4 Books
(EQ8 Lessons for Beginners, EQ8 Block Library, EQ8 Reference Manual, EQ8 Designing Quilts, EQ8 Designing More Quilts, EQ8 Drawing Blocks, EQ with Me: Pieced Drawing, EQ with Me: Learning EQStitch, EQ6 Simplified, EQ6 Block Book, EQ6 Pieced Drawing, EQ6 Applique Drawing, EQ5 Block Book, EQ5 Drawing Book, EQ5 Color Book, EQ5 Simplified, EQ5 Quilt Design, EQ4 Block Book, EQ4 Magic, EQ4 Simplified)
No part of these books may be reproduced in any form except by the original retail purchaser for their own personal use. The written instructions and designs are protected under copyright laws and are not to be photocopied, duplicated, or reproduced by any means for commercial use.
Teachers may use the information from the chapters of these books to teach EQ if they give credit to the author and book name. Copyright law forbids teachers from reproducing any part of the printed material for distribution to students. Students wanting a copy of the lessons or patterns will need to purchase the book.
Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns
The entirety of this book, including the indexing scheme and numbering system, are copyrighted by Barbara Brackman. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher or author.
Permission for any non-commercial use of the block patterns in the book is not required. For any commercial use of block patterns, consult the original pattern source and date as listed in the book. Many of the original sources no longer exist or have dates that grant entry to the public domain. If there is no date, assume the block is in public domain. Any blocks after 1970 (there are a few) will most likely still be copyrighted.
DISCONTINUED PRODUCTS
EQ4, EQ5, EQ6, EQ7 and EQStitch Software
In versions of EQ prior to EQ8, you need to confirm that a block or quilt does not have a copyright notice. The majority of the blocks are copyright free. The Notecard for the design will display the copyright if it exists.
You may not distribute collections of blocks from EQ4, EQ5, EQ6, or EQ7 software in any way, including on the internet.
Additional Notes About EQStitch Software
Any stitchings you design with EQStitch, without copying a design from existing copyrighted embroidery design, are yours to copyright. Designs in the Stitchings Library are copyright free. You do not need to mention that the stitching was made in EQStitch, but we love it if you do, of course.
Portions of the software are copyrighted by Pulse Microsystems Ltd.
EQ Mini Software
All blocks are copyright free.
Any quilts you design, without copying an existing copyrighted quilt design, are yours.
Quilt Design Wizard Software
All blocks are copyright free.
Any quilts you design, without copying an existing copyrighted quilt design, are yours.
Amy Butler Softwares
All designs copyrighted by Amy Butler Art of the Midwest, LLC and intended for personal use.
These patterns are for personal home use. Projects are not to be produced for commercial purposes, nor are they to be made into items for sale. The patterns are copyright protected and reproduction of them is not permitted. For questions about Amy’s copyright, see Amy’s website: http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/faqs/
All images in this software copyrighted by Amy Butler™. All rights reserved. Software copyrighted by The Electric Quilt Company. All rights reserved.
AnglePlay Software
All designs copyrighted by Margaret J. Miller and C&T Publishing, Inc. These design are intended for personal use.
Create Your Family Quilt Software
All appliqué blocks are copyrighted by Barbara Brackman and intended for personal use. For all pieced blocks, consult the original pattern source and date as listed in the Blockbase+ software for each individual block.
Dear Hannah Software
All designs are copyrighted by Brenda Papadakis and intended for personal use. Software is copyrighted by Electric Quilt Company.
Karen K. Stone Quilts Book
All designs and book images are copyrighted by Karen K. Stone and intended for personal use. No part of the book may be reproduced in any form except by the original retail purchaser for their own personal use. The written instructions and designs are protected under copyright laws and are not to be photocopied, duplicated, or reproduced by any means for commercial use.
Teachers may use the information from the chapters of this book to teach if they give credit to the Karen K. Stone Quilts. Copyright law forbids teachers from reproducing any part of the printed material for distribution to students. Students wanting a copy of the pattern or technique will need to purchase the book.
Blending Photos with Fabric Book
All designs, book images, and lessons are copyrighted by Mary Ellen Kranz and Cheryl Hayes and intended for personal use. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form except by the original retail purchaser for their own personal use. The written instructions and designs are protected under copyright laws and are not to be photocopied, duplicated, or reproduced by any means for commercial use.
Teachers may use the information from the chapters of this book to teach printing on fabric if they give credit to Mary Ellen Kranz, Cheryl Hayes, and Blending Photos with Fabric. Copyright law forbids teachers from reproducing any part of the printed material for distribution to students. Students wanting a copy of the lesson or pattern will need to purchase the book.
Blending Photos with Fabric 2 Book
Designs are copyrighted by Mary Ellen Kranz and intended for personal use.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form except by the original retail purchaser for their own personal use. The designs and written instructions are protected under copyright laws and are not to be photocopied, duplicated, or reproduced by any means for commercial use.
Teachers may use the designs and instructions for teaching if their students have purchased a copy of this book.
Digital Essentials Book
Copyrighted by The Electric Quilt Company
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form except by the original retail purchaser for their own personal use. The written instructions are protected under copyright laws and are not to be photocopied, duplicated, or reproduced by any means for commercial use.
Teachers may use the steps from the chapters of this book for teaching if they give credit to the author and book name. Copyright law forbids teachers from reproducing any part of the printed material for distribution to students. Students wanting a copy of this information will need to purchase the book.
My Dream House Software
All blocks are copyrighted by Angela Padilla and intended for personal use.
Quilted Diamonds 1 or 2 Software
All blocks and quilt designs are copyrighted by Linda Franz and intended for personal use.
Sew Precise! Software Volume 1 & 2 Software
Copyright free and copyright by EQ Users. Check Notecards for copyright statements.
Sew Precise! Software Volume 3 Software
All blocks are copyrighted by Shirley Liby and intended for personal use.
Sew Precise! Software Volume 4 Software
All blocks are copyrighted by Donna McDade and intended for personal use.
Stash Software (CD-ROM)
All fabric designs are copyrighted by their respective fabric manufacturers. You may use these fabric swatches to color your quilts and blocks. Images using these fabrics in EQ-designed blocks and quilts may be published. You may not use these swatches as web backgrounds or for other image needs. Please contact the fabric manufacturer with further questions on permission of use.
Sue Spargo: Folk-Art Dreams Software
All designs are copyrighted by Sue Spargo and intended for personal use.
You may use these patterns to make quilts or pin keepers for your personal use and also to make quilts or pin keepers for non-profit groups as long as you give Sue Spargo credit as the pattern source. You may not make quilts from these patterns to sell.
Sue encourages you to teach classes in this design provided you require each student to buy their own copy of this CD.
Stitched with Love Software
All blocks and quilt designs are blocks are copyrighted by Robyn Pandolph and intended for personal use.
Town & Country Patchwork Software
All designs are copyrighted Cori Derksen and Myra Harder and intended for personal use.
Yvonne Menear Embroidery Designs Software
String Art, Wool Felt, Whole Cloth Designs, Mini Reverse Applique, Mola Designs
All designs are copyrighted by Yvonne Menear and intended for personal use.
EQ5 Embroidery Upgrade CD Software
The embroidery designs which appear in the Embroidery Library appear by permission of Pfaff, Cactus Punch, Viking, and Action Tapes Inc. They are for previewing in quilt designs only and are not digitizable. To embroider a design, you must purchase the embroidery card from the manufacturer. These designs are copyrighted by their respective manufacturers.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: I designed a quilt in EQ8. Can I sell the pattern?
A: To be clear about the word “pattern” when discussing copyright of blocks and quilts in EQ software, Electric Quilt Company uses the word pattern when referring to the printed templates, foundations, and rotary cutting charts. When you draw an original block design using EQ, those printed patterns are owned by you because you created the design from scratch. You may print and distribute the block patterns freely. When you use any blocks that are part of the installed software, such as library blocks, to design an original quilt, then the quilt design is owned by you. This entitles you to the printed patterns of library blocks only as part of a pattern for the entire quilt including your sewing and assembly instructions for the quilt.
Note: If you used any add-on block designs or quilt projects (purchased from ElectricQuilt.com) or any free downloads, please check the notecard information first. You may need to request permission from the designer before you use their design in a quilt you plan to sell, distribute, or publish. If you are creating the quilt for yourself or a gift/donation, that is fine.
Q: I’m using the Karen K. Stone Cinco de Mayo project (add-on for EQ). What am I allowed to do with this design?
A: You may print the blocks and sew the quilt exactly as Karen designed it. You may use EQ8 to change the size, location of blocks within the quilt, adjust borders, recolor, and make other changes as desired. You may NOT sell, distribute, or publish the quilt or the pattern without permission from the designer even if changes have been made using EQ8. (This answer applies to all designer-specific quilts, including Dear Jane, Kimberly Einmo, Judy Martin, etc.)
Q: I designed a quilt in EQ8 and want to submit it to a quilt show or magazine. Is that okay?
A: If you designed the quilt using EQ8 library blocks (installed with EQ8) or blocks you drew yourself, you may submit your quilt design to to the show or magazine. Magazine and quilt-show submissions must be original designs so any use of EQ add-on designer blocks or quilts is prohibited.
Q: The copyright statement says the design is copyrighted to the designer. So what can I do with this add-on if it’s copyrighted?
A: You may use the add-on design for personal use only. If you make any changes at all to the design and want to distribute, sell, or publish in any way, then you must ask for permission from the original creator of the design.