Japanese Books and Copyright       

        It is important to understand what a "pattern interpretation" is. When anyone interprets a pattern from the Japanese books (or any book or other published source, for that matter) - you own the intellectual property of your interpretation (and only that of your interpretation) and that is protected by copyright. Interpretation means the concept and manner in which the content is presented: your words, your photos, the diagrams you create to illustrate, etc.; that presentation becomes copyrighted from the time you write it down or otherwise "fix it in media". However, you do not own the originating pattern that you interpreted, since that pattern came from another source. Other people may choose to interpret, write up and illustrate that same pattern as well, as long as they use their own words, photos, drawings, diagrams etc.  They cannot simply cut, photocopy, copy and paste other people's work into a new page and call it theirs (that is plagiarism and against the law).

        It's just like writing those term papers or reports in school  - you search out your information in the library (or now, the web), read and learn, then write it up in your own words, and include the bibliography of where you got your information. Many other people wrote papers on the same subject, and used the same references, but each person wrote their papers in their own words, interpreting the information learned while researching the subject.  Therefore, it is perfectly possible and indeed likely that more than one person can and will interpret the same pattern from a Japanese book or other published source - and each person, with doing their own text writing and diagram/photo preparation is entitled to present and copyright their creative interpretation, as long as the original Japanese or other interpreted presentations are not duplicated and everyone provides proper citation and attribution.

        Copyright law applies internationally - just because the book is in a different language and/or published in a different country from where one lives, does not change anything about the legal and ethical use of its content. Read more about copyright here. Please also refer to the US Copyright Office or professional legal advisers if you require definitive counsel.  

        Likewise, just because we have interpreted how to work a design does not give us the freedom or right to "name" it. The only name it can carry is "My Interpretation of Thus and Such Pattern from This Source". If nothing else, it's disrespectful to the originator of the design to have someone else "name" it. It may or may not have had a specific title (many Japanese designs do not), but it's not our prerogative to change it. One has the privilege of naming a design only if it's an original composition.   
             

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