Owner's Manual copyright

[dartfish]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Michigan.
Does anyone know how long a vehicle Owner's Manual copyright lasts. I just purchased an Owner's Manual for a 1994 Range Rover from an independent internet business and instead of getting a used copy like I thought, I received a photocopy of the manual. Is it legal to photocopy an Owner's Manual from 1994 and sell it? I'm trying to get my money refunded without the 20% "reshelving fee" and was hoping for as much information as possible to help me negotiate effectively. Any insight is appreciated.

 

[divgradcurl]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Michigan.
Does anyone know how long a vehicle Owner's Manual copyright lasts. I just purchased an Owner's Manual for a 1994 Range Rover from an independent internet business and instead of getting a used copy like I thought, I received a photocopy of the manual. Is it legal to photocopy an Owner's Manual from 1994 and sell it? I'm trying to get my money refunded without the 20% "reshelving fee" and was hoping for as much information as possible to help me negotiate effectively. Any insight is appreciated.

Well, from a pure copyright perspective, unless the person selling the photocopied manual had permission, this would be copyright infringement. Current copyrights held by corporations are valid for 120 years from the date of publication -- so yopur 1994 owner's manual won't be in the public domain until 2114.

Now, it's certainly possible that there is something in the owner's manual or elsewhere that gives people the right to reproduce the owner's manual, or the guy doing this may have permission -- unless you know for sure whether or not he has permission, you really can't say if what he is doing is infringement or not.

Chances are it is infringement, but you can't tell for sure without all of the facts.

 

[dartfish]

phone call

Michigan - I spoke on the phone with someone from the internet company that sold me the manual. They said they did not copy the original, but only sent me what their supplier had given them, which was all that was available. He said his supplier was authorized to offer the photocopy, but would not give me the name of the supplier to confirm this (and I don't blame him, since giving out such information could be a detriment to his relationship with that supplier). I'm currently trying to find out through the car company what they have to say about the photocopied versions. Thanks for you input.

 

[Some Random Guy]

This is the third time I have seen this same question in a single week. A lot of people seem to be getting screwed lately.

First, you weren't shipped what you paid for, so you shouldn't be charged a restoking fee. Dispute the charge.

Second, contact Range Rover and let them know the full details of the seller who is selling photocopies of their copyrighted materials. Other victims have has luck with this.