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Is it legal to sell digital copies of old comic books?

Started by Doohickamabob,

23 posts in this topic

Doohickamabob

Doohickamabob

Posted
Posted

I frequently browse the Comics / Golden Age section on eBay, and it seems every day there are dozens of listings for DVD copies of various comic titles.

 

Today I noticed a seller hawking a DVD with covre-to-cover scans of nearly all the EC comic titles, with the exception of Mad and Weird Science / Fantasy. (The listing is here in case you're curious.)

 

The seller writes: "All material has been extensively researched and all materials have been determined to be in the public domain. No copyrights are infringed. If applicable, characters are trademarks of their respective owners and are only used for descriptive purposes as allowed by fair use law to describe product being sold."

 

So my question is: What exactly are the legal boundaries for this sort of thing? How does one determine if a title has a valid and current copyright? What's the cut-off date for legally selling copies of a comic book, or other printed work?

 

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Cimm

Cimm

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To the best of my knowledge, ALL EC comics are still copyrighted. Gaines was not an insufficiently_thoughtful_person, and the reprints of EC comics are still being published with all documentation updated with each printing. The people that sell scans on eBay are NOT legit. And the scans they sell are not theirs to sell, regardless. Most of their GA scans are direct rips from the Digital Comics Museum or Golden Age UK, two sites dedicated to public domain preservation. Neither site hosts any EC, DC, or Marvel scans.

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Doohickamabob

Doohickamabob

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  • Author
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To the best of my knowledge, ALL EC comics are still copyrighted. Gaines was not an insufficiently_thoughtful_person, and the reprints of EC comics are still being published with all documentation updated with each printing. The people that sell scans on eBay are NOT legit. And the scans they sell are not theirs to sell, regardless. Most of their GA scans are direct rips from the Digital Comics Museum or Golden Age UK, two sites dedicated to public domain preservation. Neither site hosts any EC, DC, or Marvel scans.

 

Thanks for the updated information. The eBay listing is still live, so I guess what somebody said about eBay doing nothing is correct.

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PBU-migration

PBU-migration

Posted
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To the best of my knowledge, ALL EC comics are still copyrighted. Gaines was not an insufficiently_thoughtful_person, and the reprints of EC comics are still being published with all documentation updated with each printing. The people that sell scans on eBay are NOT legit. And the scans they sell are not theirs to sell, regardless. Most of their GA scans are direct rips from the Digital Comics Museum or Golden Age UK, two sites dedicated to public domain preservation. Neither site hosts any EC, DC, or Marvel scans.

 

Al Feldstein said:

 

"E.C. Comics are NOT in the Public Domain...their copyrights having been extended 17 years by grace of the late Senator Sonny Bono...who introduced a bill to that extent... to satisfy all his friends in the music business.

 

However, there is a provision in his copyright extension law which gives the original free-lancers and independent contractors the right to reclaim their copyrights after the first renewal period (56 years) ...inserted by a collegue senator of Senator Bono...who felt that the original copyright owners who sold their material for 56 years should be protected from this change in the game plan.

 

It is called: 'The Termination Of Transfer Of Copyright'...and many individuals, heirs and family member have benefited from this provision...i.e. the Segal and Schusters...the Kirbys...the Gil Kanes, etc., etc.

 

Including me!

 

MAD-ly yours,

Al Feldstein"

 

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dupont2005

dupont2005

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Yeah when I am looking for bulk lots on eBay I always stumble upon these. Who is paying for pirated scans? If you don't mind digital copies and aren't bothered by a little copyright infringement, why not get them free like the guy selling the discs did?

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dupont2005

dupont2005

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Does everyone in this thread pay for all their music?
Does it matter? I download tv shows all the time. I'm not going to fool myself or try to twist my logic around to pretend it's not copyright infringement. Whatever, people have their vices, downloading tv shows is one of mine. I don't need to pretend I help the tv industry by doing it, or that I am somehow constitutionally entitled to do it, I'm not and it doesn't. I do it anyway. Deal with it. I don't look down my nose at people who scan or download comics, but don't try to feed me that line that it's anything noble.
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passion4comics

passion4comics

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Does everyone in this thread pay for all their music?
Does it matter? I download tv shows all the time. I'm not going to fool myself or try to twist my logic around to pretend it's not copyright infringement. Whatever, people have their vices, downloading tv shows is one of mine. I don't need to pretend I help the tv industry by doing it, or that I am somehow constitutionally entitled to do it, I'm not and it doesn't. I do it anyway. Deal with it. I don't look down my nose at people who scan or download comics, but don't try to feed me that line that it's anything noble.

 

I've tried. I just can't read a comic on a computer. There's something missing when you can't hold it in your hand. Like an Ebook. I feel like I'm paying for air and it's nowhere near the same as a physical book in your hand.

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AGGIEZ

AGGIEZ

Posted
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Does everyone in this thread pay for all their music?
Does it matter? I download tv shows all the time. I'm not going to fool myself or try to twist my logic around to pretend it's not copyright infringement. Whatever, people have their vices, downloading tv shows is one of mine. I don't need to pretend I help the tv industry by doing it, or that I am somehow constitutionally entitled to do it, I'm not and it doesn't. I do it anyway. Deal with it. I don't look down my nose at people who scan or download comics, but don't try to feed me that line that it's anything noble.

 

 

Pretty sure Stronguy was being facetious with that comment... (shrug)

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dupont2005

dupont2005

Posted
Posted
Does everyone in this thread pay for all their music?
Does it matter? I download tv shows all the time. I'm not going to fool myself or try to twist my logic around to pretend it's not copyright infringement. Whatever, people have their vices, downloading tv shows is one of mine. I don't need to pretend I help the tv industry by doing it, or that I am somehow constitutionally entitled to do it, I'm not and it doesn't. I do it anyway. Deal with it. I don't look down my nose at people who scan or download comics, but don't try to feed me that line that it's anything noble.

 

 

Pretty sure Stronguy was being facetious with that comment... (shrug)

:blush::foryou:
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