I would be so grateful, please, for any guidance regarding artistic representations of the natural world, and the copyright laws regarding it.
I have for some months been considering making a few bits and pieces with 3D textile butterflies/moths attached. This would be, basically, a two-layer insect in a variety of plain-ish fabrics and colours (so an underwing, an overwing and a little stick textile body, perhaps with a few random veins and a wee bit of moth-like marking). Apart from its shape, it wouldn’t be an accurate representation of a real moth in either colour or texture but would be what I assume would now be loosely termed ‘folk’ art, made from random textiles.
I located, enlarged and printed out some good representations of actual underwing moths using a variety of old books, clip art websites, etc, and cut round the shapes to use as patterns. Whilst Googling these sites, I noticed several Etsy pictures of items made in the exact way that I had intended to make mine. Closer investigation revealed that an artist was selling download patterns for an almost identical item, but was insistent that the patterns be used ‘for personal use only’ and items made from them were not to be offered for sale. Dammit.
Is it really possible to copyright a simple shape that consistently occurs in the natural world? The shapes that I have cut out are just large, real, bog-standard moths (cut twice, so that I have an upper and lower wing, as in nature), but are almost identical to the Etsy seller’s pattern. I have looked at scores of butterfly and moth illustrations and they largely seem to be variations on the same theme. She has made the moths in a variety of fabrics for illustration, but she’s actually selling a PDF pattern so I’m guessing that she could claim that anything of that particular shape made in any fabric could be a copyright breach? My plans have been severely crimped
Any guidance would be gratefully received! Huge thanks in anticipation.