Copyright infringement?

[n8]

I was at hobby lobby yesterday and decided to pick up a whole bunch of patterned paper, thinking it'd be a great idea to scan it in, and use it as backgrounds, overlays, and textures in ps. I suppose since I paid for it, I can do what I want with it (and will), but will it become a problem if some miracle occurs and I make some money off what I use if for?

[Photo-John]

Well that's a damn good question. And the answer is yes - someone else made those designs. So if you reuse them for commercial purposes, you would need a release of you would be in violation. If you submitted your work to a stock house, they would ask you for a release for any intellectual property that's in your photos. To some extent, it will depend on how much you change the patterns. For instance, if they're almost unrecognizable, out-of-focus backgrounds, it might not matter. But if you make totally sharp, recognizable textures, you will be at risk.

[n8]

Thanks for responding so fast. There definitely won't be any blatant reproduction, and hell, there won't be any money made either, but it's good to know just in case.