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-   -   Lets gather our Sewing Machine Manuals! (https://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage-antique-machine-enthusiasts-f22/lets-gather-our-sewing-machine-manuals-t197096.html)

manicmike 09-14-2013 05:14 PM


Originally Posted by ArchaicArcane (Post 6289914)
If I was closer to you, I'd offer to scan them and turn them into PDFs, but,.. uh... 3300kms (2050mi) one way assuming I didn't get lost at all... that's a lotta driving. ;)

Hey Tammi, there's this thing called postage I heard was really popular last century :D

manicmike 09-14-2013 05:31 PM


Originally Posted by Sheluma (Post 6293850)
PS -- If you're not violating copyright, Google is not likely to remove it. One can report to Google that his rights have been violated, but not the rights of someone else. If the (previous) owner knows that their copyright has expired, they're not likely to make a false report. They would lose credibility because it's public information and not hard to verify. Google is on a mission to make non-copyrighted publications available to the public. QB is a different story.

It all makes sense sometimes, doesn't it? Nobody's making or losing money out of sharing this information so there's no theft. Singer offers their manuals as downloads anyway and the only reason Baer and Rempel (for example) don't is that they don't exist.
There's only winners and if someone finds that some stuff they bought 30 years ago includes copyrights for things that haven't quite expired yet but are being shared, what will they do? Sue someone who has no money and is only trying to help other people? No. Even if anyone is this type of evil it still has to start with a "cease and desist" letter and there's no lost earnings. People are so frightened when it comes to copyright and it's unnecessary. You're more likely to be sued for selling second hand original manuals or the PDF versions: The former because you're doing Singer out of $15 (they sell some paper manuals) and the latter because you are actually stealing (charging money for someone else's work) unless you're paying royalties.
The reason humans are such a successful animal is because they share information freely. There was a time it was restricted in our recent history so that only the wealthy had access, and this was known as "the dark ages".
OK, end of rant :)

Sheluma 09-14-2013 11:11 PM

No one is stealing $15 from Singer by selling a photocopy or PDF. If it's in the public domain, it belongs to everyone. Anyone can sell a copy for whatever price they can get. Second-hand originals are also perfectly legal to sell. Copyright rules apply only to the first sale.

Sheluma 09-14-2013 11:13 PM


Originally Posted by manicmike (Post 6294023)
Hey Tammi, there's this thing called postage I heard was really popular last century :D

But it's so expensive now -- it's cheaper to buy a scanner!

manicmike 09-14-2013 11:23 PM


Originally Posted by Sheluma (Post 6294353)
But it's so expensive now -- it's cheaper to buy a scanner!

Ha ha! You're funny :) yes it might well be. Postage has gone up so much these last few years. I understand what you say about the manuals too: I'm sure Singer aren't losing business because of the PDFs (or else they wouldn't allow a DL) but they are if someone sells an original one. It's really nice to have a printed manual *and* the PDF and printing your own is a poor second best option (I hate the blind stitch attachment manual that I printed).
Good to know that it's OK to re-sell the manuals too. Keeps the postal service happier.
I see on a lot of documents that resale is not permitted or legal.
Those PDF sellers on eBay really get to me, particularly when the PDF has been copied from someone like me, who gives it away.

ArchaicArcane 09-23-2013 03:30 PM


Originally Posted by Sheluma (Post 6293789)
You're right, it is a tedious process. There is one exception, and that is if the copyright date is between 1950 and 1963. <snip>

I mis-spoke, it's not really a parts list but a chart of feet/attachments with part numbers, geared towards the consumer. You've probably seen it -- it's "Machine Sewing [something, something]", copyright 1948. It's Singer's form # 1876, published multiple times from the teens through the 60s, with slightly different titles.

Well I think what I'm going to do is make available what I have. The pdfs I have have all been digitized by someone else, with a couple of exceptions, and those have my name on them, so I can track the people who take them and try to sell them.

I don't think I've seen that chart, no, but I suppose I could look it up. ;)


Originally Posted by Sheluma (Post 6293850)
PS -- If you're not violating copyright, Google is not likely to remove it. One can report to Google that his rights have been violated, but not the rights of someone else. If the (previous) owner knows that their copyright has expired, they're not likely to make a false report. They would lose credibility because it's public information and not hard to verify. Google is on a mission to make non-copyrighted publications available to the public. QB is a different story.

If I have trouble with DB I will move the stuff to google. It seems to me that they're more likely to be friendly.


Originally Posted by manicmike (Post 6294023)
Hey Tammi, there's this thing called postage I heard was really popular last century :D

When it costs me more than $12 to send 2 tubes of Singer lube to the province next door, I shudder to think of what it would cost to ship service manuals back and forth. ;)


Originally Posted by manicmike (Post 6294357)
Those PDF sellers on eBay really get to me, particularly when the PDF has been copied from someone like me, who gives it away.

Those ones make me crazy! I wish I could post a comment on every one of those auctions pointing to the original file they are selling.


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