Corvette News Online ?

[Rob M.]

Hi all,

Is anyone interrested to have all the C1 issues (available to me) of Corvette News online via the C1Registry site (beside the vintage ads and articles) ?

greetings,
Rob

[Mike Cobine]

Re: Corvette News Online ? - Caution

Probably several are, but be careful. It is one thing to publish a few vintage ads or such from a magazine, it is another to begin publishing large sections of it. This falls under copyright protection.

Odds are General Motors will tell you to remove it and to stop it.

To be safe, you should ask permission in writing first. They will then say either yes or no and you go from there. However, if they say no, and you have anything on your site from Corvette News, they could turn around and sue you.

[Rob M.]

Re: Corvette News Online ? - Caution

Mike,

Thanks for the warning. Do you (or anyone else) know how long copyrights are valid in the States ?

greetings,
Rob.

[Mike Cobine]

Re: Corvette News Online ? - Caution

Much of the protection period depends on when the time was created and if published or not. Before Jan. 1, 1978, the term was 28 years plus either 28 or 47 year extensions. After Jan. 1, 1978, it is the life of the author plus 70 years. With General Motor's kick on Official Licensing of products, they most likely kept the copyrights active along with the trademarks. They have a lot of lawyers on staff, so I'm sure it was not a big deal to ensure these were kept valid.

Unpublished items are still copyrighted. There is also a difference in registered copyrights and unregistered copyrights, however, both are enforceable. The registered copyright basically helps establish a paper trail on ownership and makes court action easier. However, if you publish materials that are widespread in dated materials (articles in a magazine, for example), determining the original date and ownership is not that hard. Copyrights are not like patents with short term protection.

A good place to start is:

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html

Other good sites to visit are:

http://www.copyright.gov

http://www.uspto.gov US Patent and Trademark Office

http://www.copyright.gov/title17

On the small stuff, most will not come after someone for infringement. Things like copying a picture from one website to another, copying a short article onto the web, especially if credit is still included to the original author, and so on. There isn't enough money involved to make a fight worth while.

But if you do a lot, you do something particularly sensitive to the owner, or if the owner tells you to quit, then you can expect trouble.

I had materials that I had spent a lot of time on taken without permission and the person refused to stop. Money-wise, it was foolish to pursue however, his site was part of a large university, and with very little persuasion, they dropped his site in a heartbeat.

If the owner tells you that you can use them, that is all you need. This is why I grant links to my materials, but never the right to copy my materials, except materials I wrote for club use long ago.

I still grant permission to clubs to print in their newsletters articles with some restrictions as I believe that clubs need all the help they can get and that all that has happened in the Corvette community would have never happened without the clubs through the years. Club newsletters are not out making a profit, but binding a group of owners together.

[Rob M.]

Re: Corvette News Online ? - Caution

Mike,

Thanks for your extensive response. I gather that asking GM for their permission is maybe not a bad idea. They even might see the fun in it...

greetings,
Rob.

[Mike Cobine]

Re: Corvette News Online ? - Caution

I would definitely ask. You are not making money on it. They are not selling those old issues today. It is more of an "educational" and "historical" thought than one of current ideas so it isn't something current you are taking from them.

You may find that you hit the right person and they even offer more.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Corvette News Online ? - Caution

Try contacting Art Armstrong for assistance. He might be listed as a profile here, else e-mail me for more information. He worked with GM legal, and is a great asset to the Corvette community with things like this.

Patrick