Hi, all---
Just a point of information...
Catalogues (containing either or both text and images) CAN be copyrighted, and are also covered by common law copyright, IF you are the CREATOR or LEGAL HOLDER of the copyright.
If one simply posts to the web or reprints material which belongs to others, copyright is being VIOLATED. Putting "Copyright 2008 Joe Jones" on such material does NOTHING for you legally if you are not the CREATOR or LEGAL HOLDER of the copyright. Even if the copyright has expired due to time or other reasons, another party cannot come in and claim copyright of it----at that point the material passes into the PUBLIC DOMAIN.
And by ownership I mean you must OWN THE COPYRIGHT, not simply possess one printed copy of a document which you did not create. One can own a single copy of a Campagnolo catalogue but that does not make them the owner of the copyright. Campy owns that. And so any reprinting or web publishing is technically in violation of International copyright law unless you are Campagnolo or they have legally assigned the rights to you.
Therefore, most of what is on the web in the form of vintage bicycle catalogues, and the physical reprints of catalogues not authorized by the copyright holders, is violating copyright law.
It always amuses me to no end when someone violates copyright law by posting somebody else's catalogue to the web, then declares that THEY hold a copyright in the material! All they own are their PHOTOS of the material, not the material itself. And of course, by photographing and publishing the catalogue, the photos are thus evidence of their violation of the law.
I'm not taking a legal or moral stance here, just citing the law.
Peter Jourdain
Whitewater, Wisconsin US of A
> Sorry, man, but catalogs cannot be copyrighted. Nor
> can your use or posting of them be copyrighted. As
> has been previously noted.
>
> I'll also point out that your possessiveness of
> these things is not really in the spirit of the CR
> list.
>
> You will, of course, do whatever you like, but I can
> tell you that someone like Sheldon Brown would not
> have reacted this way.
>
> Now, maybe VeloBase could have given you a credit
> line. That'd make sense. But legally? They're
> totally in the clear, far as I know.
>
> Where's the love? Information wants to be free!
>
> Charles Andrews
> Los Angeles
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