Re: Who owns copyright on old computer mags?

[blackm00@cam.org (Michael Black)]

In article <38791674.6F9EC400@mb.imag.net>, wpg750@mb.imag.net wrote:

> Somewhere in each magazine, usually the contents page, there is usually
> a legal paragraph which contains the info you're looking for. You will
> find names like Hurst, Ziff-Davis, Gernsbeck, Time-Warner, etc. I
> suggest you go to the library and look through a periodical index, or
> the actual magazines themselves, if your library has them.
> 
> BTW. Creative Computing was known as Elementary Electronics in the
> 1960-70s. In those days, they covered a lot of basic electronics and
> radio/audio material.
> 
Creative Computing was the creation of David Ahl, in 1974.  He had worked
for the Digital Equipment Corporation, and had worked at introducing BASIC
into schools, and had some scheme for a personal mini-computer.  I gather
Creative was an extension of that, and so the magazine was around when
small computers hit the scene.  As far as I know, it was an independent
magazine, though eventually it was bought up by one of the big magazine
publishers, Ziff-Davis, in the early eighties when there was a computer
magaizine boom, and a lot of independent magazines were being bought up.
I have the tenth anniversary issue, which was a retrospective and still
a nice reference, dated November 1984.  If that wasn't the last issue,
it didn't last much longer.

Elementary Electronics was a completely different magazine.  I'm not sure
when it started, but I think it morphed from some other magazine, maybe
Radio-TV Electronics, both of which were published by Science & Mechanics
Publishing.  It morphed once, or more likely twice, before fading out,
probably about the time Creative Computing died off.  Science & Electronics
is one name that comes to mind, though it might be a false remembrance.
And I think it became something with "Computer" in the title. Unlike
Popular Electronics, that changed it's name and tried to become a 
computer magazine, and non-technical at that, I don't remember a lot
of change in Elementary Electronics as it changed name, though of
course computers were added, just like every electronic magazine
added computer coverage back then.

      Michael

> Mr. Boffo wrote:
> 
> > (Reposting.... sorry.. my clock was screwed up and messed up
> > the message threading in the newsreader. Here it is again.)
> >
> > One of the recent developments in this age of cheap storage
> > is the arrival of the CD-ROM magazine archive. Some comics
> > and some magazines (like MAD Magazine) are making available
> > on CD-ROM the pages from all their old magazines.
> >
> > It occurs to me that there may be a market for the old
> > computer magazines from the 80's which have now died out..
> > Nibble, Family Computing, A+, Compute!, SofTalk, Creative
> > Computing, InCider...
> >
> > I would be VERY interested in buying a CD-ROM compendium of
> > all pages from these old magazines. However, I have no idea
> > who owns the copyright for the old magazines, so I have no
> > way of approaching this idea.
> >
> > Maybe somebody in these newsgroups might know?
> >
> > Now, I COULD create a website and just upload scans from the
> > magazines I have, but that would likely draw various legal
> > problems which I'd rather not deal with. I would really much
> > prefer that the actual copyright owners are involved in
> > approving or doing something like this themselves.
> >
> > OTOH, posting those old mags on a website may be EXACTLY the
> > way to find those copyright holders! ;)
> >
> > -Mr. Boffo
> >
> > Email: mister_boffo@hotmail.com
> 
> 
> 
> --
> Doug Browning
> dougbrow@mb.imag.net
> www.mb.imag.net/~wpg750