I wanted to show how making a derivative or altering a piece can make something totally different. A derivative is to change or to modify, but does not mean it is yours to claim as an original design. We had a member take a design and turn it into a Celtic Design. She showed us how she did it and we even put the pattern on the site to show how a derivative of the original pattern looked. Now some members got upset because someone had made this Celtic design and was only giving this one member credit for it. That person should have told everyone where the original design came from as it was not just that members original design. Now we know that some people do not want derivatives of their patterns for that particular reason, we must learn to give credit where credit is due. People work hard on designing and it's not a nice feeling to have someone else claim your work as their own. Me personally I don't care to much, as I know tatting as been around for so many years and it's hard to create something that hopefully as not been done before. But as with most designers, I guess a little thank you or a Link to where you got the original design would be nice and only proper and courteous. But don't think about writing a pattern for that design if it's been alter, without express permission from the original designer. As with most designs there are copy right laws, I find Dan Rusch Fisher explanation of ©Copy Right interesting and easy to understand. If your interested in © please check out Dan's and some other sites who write about these laws.  Now a technique as I have always said, "Is isn't possible to copyright a technique, a technique is free for anyone to use, it's the form in which it is written that cannot be copied". Here are two designs I have made, the first one was needle tatted and the other with the beads is a derivative I made with beads using the shuttle. Now if someone else had taken this basic design, and then got the idea to add all the beads and the last round making it into hearts, could they claim it as there own design? The author has © copyright not only of the original work, but of derivative work, and includes compilations, abridgments and even corrections made in a design.   This 5" Doily was needle tatted, can you tell that the other one was taken from this design  The same doily, just the idea was, add beads and floating rings. Also the last round was changed once I added the butterflies and made chain hearts around them. I hope some of this makes sense, and if not please check out those © sites: