[Milsurplus] Heathkit Manuals Stealing the fun out of the hobby...

[Glen Zook]

The problem is not with the original printed manuals.  You can sell, trade, etc., them all you want.  The copyright law comes into effect when you make copies (including electronic copies).  There is "fair use" but that does not mean copying entire documents and distributing them (even if there is no charge).  Even a library cannot generally copy an entire document.

According to the law the copyright holder is entitled to "treble damages" (basically 3 times the value of the item) plus legal expenses.  Remember, if you copy something and give it away you are still depriving the copyright holder of a sale and therefore there is definitely a "monentary loss".

Glen, K9STH

Website:  http://k9sth.com


--- On Tue, 2/16/10, John Hutchins <olegerityincj at austin.rr.com> wrote:

Stopping the free exchange of printed material not for sale, "Don Peterson" has no right to stop such exchanges.  This type of exchange is no different than what happens in a library; IMO as long as there is no sale;  Don,  has no damage claim.  Again this is my opinion.  Sites like BAMA have precedent to stand on but that takes time and money.  Not worth the legal headache.
 
When in need drop a line to the list I am sure a manual may just turn up in your mail box