athanasius80
Well-known member
If I wanted to reproduce parts of old appliance shop manuals, where would I start to research copyright permission and fair use?
Thanks,
Chris
Thanks,
Chris
Researching copyrights?
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customline
Well-known member
Reproducing.......
I don't think you have to get permission to do anything. Depending on how old the manual is, it becomes public domain after about 50 years.
I don't think you have to get permission to do anything. Depending on how old the manual is, it becomes public domain after about 50 years.
danemodsandy
Well-known member
Copyright Has Changed:
Okay, this is what I do for a living, so relax - I'll make it easy as possible.
The Copyright Term Extension Act of 1999 extended copyright on most things. An appliance manual is considered a "work of corporate authorship." and the term of copyright was extended to 120 years after creation or 95 years after publication, whichever endpoint is earlier. (For most practical purposes, the publication date plus 95 years is the endpoint)
The exception is an "abandoned copyright," where a company publishing something is out of business, and there is no longer anyone holding that company's assets. The example here might be Lustron houses; the company is long gone, and nothing of it remains under the "corporate umbrella" of an existing company. Therefore, reproducing Lustron sales literature and manuals is okay.
But caution is needed on companies that are out of business, because often their assets are purchased by other companies that end up holding their copyrights. The example here would be Servel, a company whose brand has not been seen in the marketplace very much since 1957, but whose assets were acquired by Whirlpool, making Whirlpool the current copyright holder for Servel stuff. So, it's essential to be certain where a company's assets ended up, if they seem to be out of business.
Once you find out who owns the rights to a brand name, usually a call to the company's Media Relations department or Rights & Permissions department will result in a chance to talk with the right person about what you want to do. The response you will get varies widely - some companies couldn't care less about their 1961 owners' manuals, while some (like General Electric), don't want anything republished in any medium (including the Web), without permission. In my experience, most companies are pretty happy to be asked, and grant permission readily if they are properly credited; my experiences with GE fall into this category.
If you are planning to sell a republished manual, the company may very well want a licencing fee. Fair Use provisions of copyright law don't usually apply to republishing something in its entirety and then charging for it; you are profiting from the intellectual property of others.
Hope this helps a little; get back with me if you need more info.
Okay, this is what I do for a living, so relax - I'll make it easy as possible.
The Copyright Term Extension Act of 1999 extended copyright on most things. An appliance manual is considered a "work of corporate authorship." and the term of copyright was extended to 120 years after creation or 95 years after publication, whichever endpoint is earlier. (For most practical purposes, the publication date plus 95 years is the endpoint)
The exception is an "abandoned copyright," where a company publishing something is out of business, and there is no longer anyone holding that company's assets. The example here might be Lustron houses; the company is long gone, and nothing of it remains under the "corporate umbrella" of an existing company. Therefore, reproducing Lustron sales literature and manuals is okay.
But caution is needed on companies that are out of business, because often their assets are purchased by other companies that end up holding their copyrights. The example here would be Servel, a company whose brand has not been seen in the marketplace very much since 1957, but whose assets were acquired by Whirlpool, making Whirlpool the current copyright holder for Servel stuff. So, it's essential to be certain where a company's assets ended up, if they seem to be out of business.
Once you find out who owns the rights to a brand name, usually a call to the company's Media Relations department or Rights & Permissions department will result in a chance to talk with the right person about what you want to do. The response you will get varies widely - some companies couldn't care less about their 1961 owners' manuals, while some (like General Electric), don't want anything republished in any medium (including the Web), without permission. In my experience, most companies are pretty happy to be asked, and grant permission readily if they are properly credited; my experiences with GE fall into this category.
If you are planning to sell a republished manual, the company may very well want a licencing fee. Fair Use provisions of copyright law don't usually apply to republishing something in its entirety and then charging for it; you are profiting from the intellectual property of others.
Hope this helps a little; get back with me if you need more info.
danemodsandy
Well-known member
P.S.:
I don't know if I was clear about this above, so just to make sure:
Always assume that something is copyright until you are good and effin'-A sure it's not.
If you would like to know more about Fair Use, I recommend the Wikipedia article on the subject. It helps most people understand that Fair Use is actually a little tricky, and that you should err on the side of caution when applying it.
I don't know if I was clear about this above, so just to make sure:
Always assume that something is copyright until you are good and effin'-A sure it's not.
If you would like to know more about Fair Use, I recommend the Wikipedia article on the subject. It helps most people understand that Fair Use is actually a little tricky, and that you should err on the side of caution when applying it.
The Copyright Term Extension Act of 1999 extended copyright on most things.
But according to Wikipedia (so this might be right or might not be) for works published before 1964:
Works published with notice of copyright or registered in unpublished form on or after January 1, 1923, and prior to January 1, 1964, had to be renewed during the 28th year of their first term of copyright to maintain copyright for a full 95-year term.
With the exception of maps, music, and movies, the vast majority of works published in the United States before 1964 were never renewed for a second copyright term."
en.wikipedia.org
But according to Wikipedia (so this might be right or might not be) for works published before 1964:
Works published with notice of copyright or registered in unpublished form on or after January 1, 1923, and prior to January 1, 1964, had to be renewed during the 28th year of their first term of copyright to maintain copyright for a full 95-year term.
With the exception of maps, music, and movies, the vast majority of works published in the United States before 1964 were never renewed for a second copyright term."
Public domain - Wikipedia
danemodsandy
Well-known member
Robert:
That provision seems to vary a lot, according to a company's policy on maintaining copyrights. General Electric, for instance, has been very conscientious about maintaining them, and most everything they every published (including magazine ads) is still very much their copyright.
A call to a company will usually suss out their policy on vintage stuff, and sometimes you have to track down new owners. At Modernism Magazine, we recently ran a story on the Sheer Look generation of Frigidaire appliances. Running an old Sheer Look ad took permission from Electrolux Home Appliances, current owner of the Frigidaire trademark. Another recent story showing a vintage ad, on the reissue of the Hoover Constellation, took permission from TTI Floorcare, which now owns Hoover. In both instances, the companies were very happy to help; they just wanted to be asked and get a proper copyright notice and credit.
That provision seems to vary a lot, according to a company's policy on maintaining copyrights. General Electric, for instance, has been very conscientious about maintaining them, and most everything they every published (including magazine ads) is still very much their copyright.
A call to a company will usually suss out their policy on vintage stuff, and sometimes you have to track down new owners. At Modernism Magazine, we recently ran a story on the Sheer Look generation of Frigidaire appliances. Running an old Sheer Look ad took permission from Electrolux Home Appliances, current owner of the Frigidaire trademark. Another recent story showing a vintage ad, on the reissue of the Hoover Constellation, took permission from TTI Floorcare, which now owns Hoover. In both instances, the companies were very happy to help; they just wanted to be asked and get a proper copyright notice and credit.
Sandy
Thanks! You explained the matter of fair use and copyright quite well and concisely. I can't tell you the number of times this is explained to the public over the course of a typical week, where I work.
Darryl
Thanks! You explained the matter of fair use and copyright quite well and concisely. I can't tell you the number of times this is explained to the public over the course of a typical week, where I work.
Darryl
