I’d like to sell some of my cabinetry at a local wine and cheese gourmet shop. The things I’ve built are based on pictured I saw in magazines and catalogs. Sometimes I modified the design; sometimes I copied it exactly (OK, I guessed at the dimensions). Can I call my pieces my design or should I give the original source credit?
Michael Dresdner: In brief: Honesty is the best policy.
Simon Watts: Usually, when a design is published it’s considered to be in the in the Public Domain and is up for grabs. Why not identify your work simply as ‘Made by XX’ and dodge the whole issue. Whatever you do DON’T say ‘Crafted by XX.’
