***** MOoderator's Note ***** Agreed ***** Mike G Moderator of the Week The legalities here are correct. This definitively puts the issue to bed. Bob Hlavacek The following by Wayne A. Ernst > Hi- > Though I've never yet gotten around to printing updated manuals as I have > long hoped, I have done a lot of research, including copyright and ownership > issues of DMC intellectual property. This subject comes up from time to time, > and my responses, for some reason, have never made it past the moderators. Why? > Well, here goes... again. > James Espey of DMC Texas has frequently claimed that they own the rights to > copyrighted DMC materials. He bases this claim on the purchase of the KAPAC > inventory of parts plus assorted paperwork and odds and ends. Is this how > copyright privileges change ownership? The US gov copyright office makes that > perfectly clear: NO. DMC Texas is not JZD's company, is not the successor to JZD's > company, and did not buy JZD's company... or any of the company's copyrights. > Which explains why they're not on file with the government. So if DMC Texas > doesn't own them, and JZD's company is defunct, does that mean that they're open > game for anybody to use? Again, the answer is no. If you want, you can take > your chances. But the copyright owner has a right to prosecute you. In the > case of the DeLorean copyrighted materials, the owner has apparently never > prosecuted anyone. So is it possible to determine who exactly owns the copyrights? > Yes. I spoke to the David Allard, Esq., the bankruptcy trustee for the > DeLorean case. He told me that the copyright privileges were officially transfered > to Mr. DeLorean as part of the bankruptcy settlement. In fact, I went so far > as to ask Mr. DeLorean's permission to reprint the manuals. He was kind enough > to give me permission... in writing. I appreciate and have bought from DMC > Texas but I gag everytime I see this kind of _________ claim from James about > their supposed rights. (Fill in your own adjective in the blank!) I understand > they copyrighted a variation on the DMC logo just a few years ago, but that's > not anywhere close to a blanket ownership, is it? And it sure isn't based on > buying parts! I'm almost surprised they haven't told the other vendors to stop > printing manuals. Here's a challenge: if I'm wrong, James, send me a copy of > the paperwork transferring copyright ownership from JZD or his company to DMC > Texas, and I promise to publically apologize for my error right here on the DML. > Deal? > Wayne A. Ernst > Bridgeton, NJ > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: > moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx > > For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com > > To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/