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Comic Scanning Service - Legal advice needed!

Started by howardhallis,

25 posts in this topic

howardhallis

howardhallis

Posted
Posted

Hi board members! I need some legal help!

 

A few weeks ago I got to thinking that many comic collectors would love to have a comic book scanning service that could digitally archive their books so they could enjoy reading them after they are slabbed and graded. Since I'm aware that scanning might decrease the value and grade of each book, especially if left in the hands of a Kinkos employee with a small scanner, I wondered if I could provide a better service.

 

I happen to have a really nice oversized scanner at my house and have had years of experience with carefully scanning my collection. Besides this, I can easily put these comic scans into a digital archive that can be read on any web browser.

 

Now comes the legal questions... If I provide this service and make each customer whose books I scan sign a document stipulating that the digital file I would create for them would be done for research purposes only and would never be duplicated, sold or published, would it fall under "fair use"?

 

I've created a web page for this service that I put up online today. I haven't had any orders yet and probably won't accept any until I have a better understanding of the legalities involved, but I wanted to post this here and get some feedback from the forum so I can either proceed with this service or remove every trace of this page before I get my [!@#%^&^] sued off!

 

Check out the site here:

COMIC BOOK SCANNING SERVICES

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Shield

Shield

Posted
Posted

I've scanned about 205 Golden Age MLJ books (Check my website). I have the process so automated that I can scan a 68 page book (with covers) in about 20 minutes.

 

Your pricing of $50 for Golden Age books is quite honestly, ridiculous. Besides, I don't think you'd give them exact same level of care and attention that the owner would.

 

Just my .02.

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DarrenSmith

DarrenSmith

Posted
Posted
Hi board members! I need some legal help!

 

A few weeks ago I got to thinking...

 

 

If I can offer some advice:

 

1) Hire a lawyer experienced in the area that you need help and ask the lawyer the questions you need answers to. You most likely have caused yourself a legal liability just asking the question in a public forum like this.

 

2) Before you hire that Lawyer, write your business plan. Usually, this is an exercise for the individual starting the business to make sure he/she has done enough research and thought the idea through to the point it makes sense to go ahead. (of course if you need money, the banker requires you to present this to him) You can find out more about business plans at the Small Business Administration website at www.sba.gov

 

3) Although its part of the business plan, you need to identify who exactly your customer is and what would motivate them to send them to you to scan. Also make sure you research alternatives on the market like (1) Microcolour International Limited's color microfiche of most Golden Age DC, Timely, and other popular golden age comic titles; (2) the low cost of copious silver age reader copies on the market

 

4) Make sure you are insured (including against theft)

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howardhallis

howardhallis

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Your pricing of $50 for Golden Age books is quite honestly, ridiculous. Besides, I don't think you'd give them exact same level of care and attention that the owner would.

 

Just my .02.

 

It would be $50 for the scans as well as a CD-Rom navigation for the books, which is pretty steep to be sure, but my scanner would take about 45 minutes to an hour to do 40 scans, and the process of putting them in a web browser readable format takes a bit of time as well. This is more than a .pdf file format. We're talking about a mini web site on the CD-Rom.

 

My intention isn't to rip people off, so maybe this price is unreasonable. I'm just testing the waters here...

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DarrenSmith

DarrenSmith

Posted
Posted

 

Should I take this site down? I really don't want to get in trouble here!

 

My comment was not on the legality or illegality of what you were doing, but along the lines that there is now a liabilty that a hypothetical plaintiff can now show that (1) you questioning yourself if what you are doing is legal and (2) you seeking legal advice from the general public

 

Hope that clears things up.

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howardhallis

howardhallis

Posted
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My comment was not on the legality or illegality of what you were doing, but along the lines that there is now a liabilty that a hypothetical plaintiff can now show that (1) you questioning yourself if what you are doing is legal and (2) you seeking legal advice from the general public

 

Hope that clears things up.

 

I got ya. Well, since I'm not going to take any orders to scan any comics unless all of this goes through the proper legal channels and I can obtain a business license and have everything squared away with a lawyer, I'm going to keep the page up.

 

Personally I don't see a problem with asking advice from the general public in this case, since it would be people like the ones who view these message boards who would be my target customers. I think these boards have a lot of really intelligent people who have great advice and suggestions, so why not reach out for feedback, legal or otherwise, with folks who might have some great answers? (Yourself included!)

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Red Hook

Red Hook

Posted
Posted

comicscanner.jpg

 

 

Actually, just joking.....I personally don't see anything wrong with it.....he's just providing an archival service for personal use. confused-smiley-013.gif The price might need adjusting, maybe, but what the heck? confused-smiley-013.gif

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DiceX

DiceX

Posted
Posted

I think Josh already has a patent on the scanning idea.

You may want to prepare to cease and desist.

The wheels are in motion.

893scratchchin-thumb.gif

(Does Vince have that phrase patented?)

insane.gif

 

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All comments may, or may not, be mine...

This IS the internet.

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shadroch

shadroch

Posted
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While I am not going to comment on the legal side of this,I think you need to do a bit more research into the business aspects of this.

Why would people use this service?

For $35 to $50 dollars a book,why wouldn't people simply buy either reader copys or reprint editions.

As I see it,your biggest obsticle wil be getting people to send you the books. What sort of insurance will you be offering them?In the event of a fire ,eathquake or break-in,how will the books be protected?In te case of hi-ticket books,this is a major factor.

Good luck in your effort,I hope it works well for you.

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Aman619

Aman619

Posted
Posted
While I am not going to comment on the legal side of this,I think you need to do a bit more research into the business aspects of this.

Why would people use this service?

For $35 to $50 dollars a book,why wouldn't people simply buy either reader copys or reprint editions.

As I see it,your biggest obsticle wil be getting people to send you the books. What sort of insurance will you be offering them?In the event of a fire ,eathquake or break-in,how will the books be protected?In te case of hi-ticket books,this is a major factor.

Good luck in your effort,I hope it works well for you.

 

ditto to all that.

 

plus heres a twist that CGC can profit from. While theyve got our books, how about an extra fee ($10?) for front and back scans that CGC would archive (forever??) They scan some of them now right? but arent interested in scanning EVERY book, But what if there was a profit motive for them??

They could make the file names the grading reg # so only the owner could easily locate an individual comic scan, (plus passwork access of course)

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seank

seank

Posted
Posted

There's also a question here of who owns the digital rights to the books and rights in general to the characters. Marvel has published their books on CD-Rom. You, by providing this service to people, could be infringing on Marvel's rights. Do you really want a visit from their lawyers? I suspect that DC has similar rights in every book they've published. For companies that are out of business, the question is a bit easier, but you then have to worry about the rights to the characters themselves. For example, ERB's estate has rights over Tarzan, John Carter, etc. and they have lawyers, too.

 

I suspect this service of yours goes beyond the fair use idea. If I scan my own book to read on my computer, that's one thing, but you're essentially trying to make a profit off the copying.

 

My advice? Consult a lawyer who is well-versed in intellectual property issues before you find yourself facing a process server.

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