Re: (ET) Service manual rights

[John Casey <jjcrmc optonline net>]

Here is two cents about copyright from someone who spent most of his 
working
life in publishing sales, with a company you'd all recognize.  I have circa
1970's ET Commercial Applications Guide, ET Owners Use and Care Manual and
Gunn's copy of the Home Owners Manual.  These pieces do not bear a 
copyright
notice which must show year of publication and the copywight owners name.

Here's the best part:  works published before March 1, 1989 must have  this
copywright notice or take the risk of losing protection.

So, let's say a guy emerges from the woods and claims that I infringed his
copywright on the HO Manual.  As there no prior evidence of legitimate
copywright I can only be found an "innocent infringer," a legal term in
copywrightdom essentially meaning I've done no harm to the copywright 
owner.

Jack

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Pieter" <pvcl plitch com>
To: "Christopher Zach" <czach computer org>; "Elec-Trak@Cosmos. Phy. Tufts.
Tractor GE" <elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu>
Sent: Monday, July 18, 2005 3:43 PM
Subject: Re: (ET) Service manual rights


> I was always respectful of Bill Gunn's right to make a buck - keeping him
> in business was important to me and everyone else here.  But if he is
truly
> gone....
>
> The original GE "homeowner's service manual"  in my possession has no
> copyright notice, library of Congress number, no publisher, nothing.  I
> have been told that none of that is legally required to establish
ownership
> or first publication, and that even without any notice you could be
> infringing on a copyright.
>
> That being said, if in fact someone far away has the rights and is not
> interested is publishing or distributing manuals, here's a couple of
plans:
>
> (1) contact Bill Gunn.  Find out who owns the manual copyright.  Contact
> that person.  Get a release.  Scan it and put it up on the net as a .PDF
> file or have someone print it and figure out how to pay for distribution.
>
> (2) Just do it.  Scan a copy and make it into a .PDF file - distribute 
> for
> free over web.  Assume that nobody is going to incur court costs for the
> minimal audience for this publication.  It's not Harry Potter 6!!
>
> I belong to a Gravely tractor group, and every manual ever published by
> Gravely is easily available for free on the web.  Gravely was bought by
> Ariens (still in business), but the line has been recently discontinued.
>
> It's interesting that we aren't timid about putting GE's advertising
> literature up on the net, but not their manuals.
>
> I won't make a recommendation here.  I have, however, seen this exact 
> same
> thread repeated about once a year for the last x years!  Just trying to
> "cut to the chase."
>
>
> At 02:24 PM 7/18/2005, you wrote:
> >So has anyone figured out who owns the rights to the manual? I bought 
> >one
> >from Bill a number of years ago and it does not have any fold outs or
> >anything like that. Which is a pain as I have to piece the pages 
> >together
> >for the schematics.
> >
> >If the "ownership" is some guy in Central America who took all the good
> >stuff I'd like to know :-)
> >
> >Chris
> >
> >
> >_______________________________________________
> >Elec-trak mailing list
> >Elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
> >https://cosmos.phy.tufts.edu/mailman/listinfo/elec-trak
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Elec-trak mailing list
> Elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
> https://cosmos.phy.tufts.edu/mailman/listinfo/elec-trak