I've just been updating my 'zines owned' list in anticipation of Eclecticon (and, really, I should have done this right from the beginning -- I have duplicate copies of several zines, and THREE copies of one) and it reminded me that the 'legality' of some of my collection is questionable. Not that I stole them or anything, just that after I actually saw what I'd bought from various 'second hand' sales and charitable fund raisers I wondered if they were created by/with the permission of the original publisher.
Five types in particular I wonder about:
1) Two digest-sized zines (standalone novellas, one called 'Between Black and White', I forget the other title) that I think might be the 'bootlegged' stories from Horizon zines that Steve referred to.
2) I have a handful of zines that are clearly xerox copies. (Er, I mean second generation copies, since most zines these days *start* with xeroxed production.) Now, I know when zines used to be mainly offset printed some publishers would let fans make their own copies of a friend's copy, or even produce copies that way themselves, when the original printrun had sold out but there wasn't the demand to justify printing another lot of 100 copies. OTOH, with today's xeroxed zines, publishers can produce copies a handful at a time, and so the zine doesn't have to go out of print. Some of these copies say 'copied with permission' or have a rubber-stamped 'Authorized copy' on the title page -- but anyone can get rubber stamps made, right?
3) I have a few 'compilation' zines: someone xeroxed their favorite stories from multiple sources and bound them. A personal 'Greatest Hits' collection.
4) Related type: individual stories just stapled in a corner. Some of them clearly xeroxed from zines (with header or footer lines with titles & page numbers), others could just be printed fresh, from a web page for example.
5) Related type: masses of articles cut from/xeroxed from various SF/TV magazines.
So. What should be done with these zines/stories if I decide I don't want to keep them any longer? Should they all be destroyed, since I can't know for sure they are 'authorized' copies? Can I say, I bought them, therefore it's okay to sell them? Would giving them away be okay, but selling not? Are the answers the same for all five types?
Opinions?
Susan Beth susanbeth33@mindspring.com
From: Susan Beth susanbeth33@mindspring.com
I've just been updating my 'zines owned' list in anticipation of
Eclecticon
(and, really, I should have done this right from the beginning -- I have duplicate copies of several zines, and THREE copies of one) and it
reminded
me that the 'legality' of some of my collection is questionable.
I've got a couple that are blatant photocopies, but as they were given to me, rather than sold, I don't worry about it. They're not zines I would have shelled out money for, so the publisher hasn't lost a sale. I put them in the same bracket as taping a friend's CD because you can't be arsed to buy it yourself.
The issue once came up in Dragon, TSR Inc's DandD magazine. The official word from the editor was that photocopying whole articles for personal use was fine. Photocopying to give to a friend was okay too. Copying the whole magazine to flog for a fast buck was definitely not on.
If the original stories are OOP (by no means impossible), then I see nothing wrong in selling the 'illegals' for a modest sum. Or if you can, why not take them to a con and put them in the charity auction? That way you get rid of them, the zines find a new home, and homeless kids or whoever get the money. What publisher's going to complain about that even if he or she wanted to?
Five types in particular I wonder about:
- Two digest-sized zines (standalone novellas, one called 'Between Black
and White', I forget the other title) that I think might be the 'bootlegged' stories from Horizon zines that Steve referred to.
It was me rather than Steve, but yes, that is one of the suspects. Horizon allege that this is a verbatim copy of a story by Pat Thomas, Ann O'Neill and Catherine Knowles, first printed in Spacefall #4 and later in Best of Spacefall #1. The others are:
Sanction, originally by Linda Webb-Taylor in Spacefall #5, reprinted in Best of Spacefall #1. With this and Between Black and White (which I won't abbreviate to BBW), the alleged* bootlegs credit 'Keith Black' as the author.
Horizon 8, allegedly bootlegged as Blake's 7 Omnibus Volume One. All four stories in the Horizon zine are included (credited to their original authors), though one story has a slight change of name (Judith Seaman's Seeds of Legend becomes Seeds of Death).
All three alleged bootlegs were extant by 1988, so any copies found at conventions these days are likely to be second or third etc hand, but if you've got any sense of loyalty to Horizon (some people do, presumably) or you're bothered about bootlegging, then you might want to avoid them should they cross your path. On the other hand, if you're an obsessive completist zine junkie, you probably want the originals *and* the alleged bootlegs.
Horizon 8 is probably still available from Horizon. I don't know if they still have Spacefall/Best of Spacefall on offer, but I suspect not.
Neil
(All info from Horizon NL #21, December 1988 *I repeat 'alleged' purely to cover myself. Diane Gies seemed pretty convinced, and there were murmurings of legal action, but I don't know what the outcome was, if any.)
Neil wrote:
If the original stories are OOP (by no means impossible), then I see nothing wrong in selling the 'illegals' for a modest sum. Or if you can, why not take them to a con and put them in the charity auction? That way you get rid of them, the zines find a new home, and homeless kids or whoever get the money. What publisher's going to complain about that even if he or she wanted to?
That's an excellent suggestion. :-) Actually, I needn't wait for a con, I could just sell them and donate the money, or maybe give them away in return for the buyer's pledge to give whatever they think they're worth to charity.
It was me rather than Steve,
Sorry! I live in fear that some day I will be called to witness in a trial. My testimony would be utterly worthless.
Sanction, originally by Linda Webb-Taylor in Spacefall #5, reprinted in Best of Spacefall #1. With this and Between Black and White (which I won't abbreviate to BBW), the alleged* bootlegs credit 'Keith Black' as the author.
Icck. I didn't like the idea of cheating a fan publisher out of a sale (especially if it meant she never sold out her print run) but stealing the credit from the writer is even worse.
I think I *will* just torch those two bootlegs.
-
Neil Faulkner -
Susan Beth