Hi,
I am currently doing virtual modeling with trains and have found information in model RR magazines helpful. One item I haven’t seen anything about I wanted to ask about. An example to illustrate, another virtual modeler wants to do a layout and is looking for track plans. Is it legal for someone to scan a trackplan from a magazine he owns and send it to the person wanting one? I tried looking through magazines and the websites for legal stuff about this but either I can’t find it or I saw it and didn’t know what it was. Same applies to scale drawings.
I want to make sure before I offer anything (haven’t) with things like how Union Pacific did the legal stuff to protect its trademark. Thanks.
There’s a fairly short answer to this question, but probably not what you want to hear.
It is not legal to distribute copies of copyrighted materials that you have, either by purchase, photocopy, scanning or any means. You are only allowed “fair use” for your own personal purposes, or to quote excerpts in the writing of reviews. It doesn’t matter whether you charge for distributing copies, or give them away for free, you are not allowed to distribute them, or to post those scans anywhere.
What you can do is tell people that the original image exists, and in what issue of the magazine it can be found. The other person that wants the use of the image can then find it by locating that issue, either in a reference library, by purchasing a copy of the article from the publisher, or by purchasing a back issue, either from the original publisher or from used magazine dealers.
But that’s all you can do.
-Ed
I believe Model Railroader’s customer service department will sell color photocopies of specific articles to you for a small fee. The article needs to be from a back issue that is out of print, however – otherwise they’ll just want to sell you a copy of the magazine with the article in it, naturally.
But to make copies of articles and hand them out to your friends is a violation of their copyright, even if you do it for free.
OOPS!!
Me bad!
(Unsigned), and quiet…for now
In actuality what you could do is contact MR or whomever published the article and ask for written permission to photocopy it or send to a friend. Usualy they will unless it is the whole article then they may ask you for a small fee but mostly they wont. I have gotten lots of permission from people who I have used their actual photos for pictures for my business (decals) and usually they just say as lon as it has my name credited I could care less. There are just a few butts in this worl not naming names U P that would consider taking you to court or threatening with legal rights act bs. Thats what I know and thats all I am gonna say.
Photocopy the entire magazine, keep it for your own personal use, then send the magazine to your friend.
The easiest route, if your morality and ethics compel you, is to seek permission from the entity holding the copyright.
If you were to copy a copyrighted CD for a friend, would the owner of the copyright give his consent in principle? If not, then the act is wrong in ethics. The person expects, by taking out the copyright, to have recompense for his creativity and effort. He needs a living, and should not work for free, just as you would not work for free.
Actually I do want to hear it. Old CYA principle, asking BEFORE doing. If wrong, don’t do.[:)]
Thanks for the replies.
My personal opinion regarding the ethics of this situation is that it’s not really wrong. I think the spirit of the copyright law is to protect publishers/authors from someone undermining their work on a scale that would cause serious detriment to their livelihood. For example if I copied a number of MR articles in order to use the content to make a profit for myself – that would be wrong. If I also constantly made copies to distribute among many friends for free – that would be wrong too. But I just don’t see any issue with a one time (or occasional) copy. The financial impact is negligible. The intent is also not to profit from or to undermine profit from the publisher.
That said, I do believe that a court of law could convict me for making even one copy without consent. The letter of the law has been enforced as such. I don’t think its right, but that’s more or less the result of reality of the world we live in. Companies have been forced to hone laws in order to deter rampant violations of their copyrights/patents, and lawyers have worked many laws well past the sprit of their original intent in order to score handsome settlements and verdicts. So now people who used to make an occasion (key word – occasional) copy of an article to help out a friend have to be concerned about violating copyright laws. It’s a sad reality that thieves and lawyers have created over the ye
MA:
While I agree with you in principle, it becomes a slippery slope. Where do you draw the line? Is one copy for a friend okay, but two copies for a friend not okay? Or a couple of copies, one each for two friends?
So this time I make a copy of an article for a friend … no big deal.
Next time, I make two copies, one for each of my two friends.
Then next, I make copies for my four buddies at the club and hand them out.
Or what if I make a single copy for one friend out of each issue?
I prefer to avoid the whole slipperly slope all together and make sure people get legal copies. I’ll either loan my friend my magazine or give him my magazine and go buy another copy.