I just have to say I’m no lawyer, but you don’t have to be, you just have to use common sense. Firstly, always read the license agreement on buying any design, especially popular designs! Anyways, no you can’t sell all embroidered designs. There are designs that can not be sold in their embroidered form. Then again, there are many that can be sold. Just because all the designs you’ve encountered has a license that allows you to use their designs for commercial purposes doesn’t mean all designs are licensed this way. So be careful, don’t assume, and always read the fine print. Now, there are also designs that can be embroidered and sold, but only in limited quantities per a certain time period like xx a month. Any more than that you have to contact them for a special license. I think you have to pay royalties. They do this to protect their designs so that they are not massed produced on items which will cause their designs to lose their uniqueness or ‘specialnes.’
I’m saying this to inform people who are new and may not be aware of such restrictions. I digitize my own artwork and sell them online with a pretty strict license agreement–all my designs are for personal use only. I got an e-mail yesterday from a customer complimenting my designs and how they are such a hit at her local flea market. I quickly explained to her that what she was doing was against the license agreement. She genuinely apologized and was very sorry. I told her if I wanted to, I could take legal action, but of course I wouldn’t do that to her because she was genuinely innocent. However, I told her other designers might not be so forgiving and in fact, there are lawyers–from a company who shall remain nameless—who are dedicated to perusing infringers. The lesson is, always read the fine print!
Happy stitching!