My Dragons
Hrm...
I have one of those page-a-day calendars1 with quick knitting patterns. For the second time I've noticed that a pattern in the calendar looks an awful lot like one I've seen somewhere on the Net, and I note it's the same designer this time as well. The first time, last year, it was a dumbed-down version of the Yarn Harlot's Snowdrop Shawl; this time it's the lace-and-beads caps from KnitPicks--I can't seem to find the pattern anymore, but it was there.
With the shawl it wasn't such a big deal; it was a traditional lace pattern and a triangular shawl, two things that would be easy to independently invent. But now these hats...they're close-fitting, brightly colored, have a pattern of spiral lines of eyelets, and are beaded around the border. Heck, the calendar's pattern even uses the KnitPicks yarn I seem to remember. I am not sure what to do here, especially if KP has discontinued the hat pattern they used to sell.
Edit, the next day: I sent KP an email; turns out the woman whose pattern is in the calendar is also the one who sold the hat pattern to KP in the first place. Their contract on it has expired, so she can sell it to anyone she likes. I'm glad I was jumping at shadows.
1: Of course it's not actually a pattern for every day of the year. Weekends are condensed into one page each, some patterns take two pages, and personally I don't consider "Take a specified yarn, CO 20, knit every row till you're out of yarn" to be a pattern.