Can a friend sell origami she's made based on someone else's pattern?

December 1, 2008 11:02 AM

Asking for a friend who has made some origami jewelry: is it legal to sell the jewelry she has made which were based on designs from an origami book (of which designs are presumably copyrighted by the author?). Could she face any sort of copyright infringement claim from selling such jewelry?

Additionally, I was just curious myself about the patterns on the origami paper itself. Is that kind of thing generally copyrighted-or-whatever by anyone? Would that also pose a problem of any sort?

posted by yeoz to grab bag (5 comments total)

Checking the copyright pages from a few books nets some explanations of what origami copyrght law is. example (UK), example (US), example (Canada). There are further explanations of the origami/copyright issues on the Origami USA site. All sites say basically the same thing: the model and the diagram are protected, ask for permission.
posted by jessamyn at 11:17 AM on December 1, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Checking the copyright pages from a few books nets some explanations of what origami copyrght law is.

The claims of a copyright holder is almost never a explanation of what the law is. It is instead an explanation of what they wish the law was. There are things in the "example (US)" link that are simply incorrect. It is sad that people are so credulous in an area where rightsholders have traditionally claimed rights far beyond what the law grants (as they do here once more).

That doesn't mean that it is okay for your friend to do this. She needs to consider whether the pattern is copyrightable, and, if it is, whether her use is fair use. Commercial resale of something she made directly from copyrighted instructions is probably not fair use.

If she really intends to make a business out of this then she must get a lawyer.

It is hilarious to me that the same FAQ text appears in both the "example (US)" and "origami/copyright issues" links, which may be a copyright violation in and of itself.
posted by grouse at 11:40 AM on December 1, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

There are several people selling origami items on etsy - your fiend could try contacting them to see if this is something they have figured out already.
posted by mikepop at 11:56 AM on December 1, 2008

It's my understanding that the US Patent office grants patents on origami designs as methods, (do a search at http://appft1.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html for origami and sheet.
posted by gryftir at 2:18 PM on December 1, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

One thing nobody has mentioned here is that many of the traditional origami patterns are over a hundred years old and probably not subject to copyright (or patent) law at all. If she's selling cranes she's certainly OK. Otherwise a lawyer would help.
posted by mmoncur at 7:34 PM on December 1, 2008