Doc - I understand what you are saying about the information being misused and I agree with you 100%.
From our standpoint, the owners of the items, we want to share the information to try to answer some of the questions that we have had for years. With an open forum like this, anyone, owners and non-owners, can access the information.
I think we should back up a bit to clarify a point or two.
Being a US Copyright holder for a few books, I do understand a bit about US Copyright laws, have read the law several times, talked with attorneys about copyright laws and read quite a bit about these laws. We could probably have a lengthy thread about copyrights.
In your post above posted July 20, 2009 08:08 AM, you stated...
"You know kind of like the bear CD and the place that sells copies of all bear catalogs and there are even black and white copies of the bear catalogs for sale out there."
First about the Bear CD that features Bear's Grayling Catalogs. I know the fellow who orchestrated the creation of that CD, and talked with him about it, before, during and after the CD was created. So probably know more than most about the events that took place.
In 2000 when the CD was created and copyrighted, Bear Archery owned the copyrights to the catalogs. It was my understanding at that time, that in exchange for some compensation, Bear gave written permission for the CD to be made.
In other words the CD is a 100% legal and legitimate item according to US Copyright laws.
I can not speak for the legitimacy of the color reprints of the catalogs as I have no knowledge of anything regarding them other than the fellow from Wisconsin who sold them the catalogs told me about the transaction after he had made the sale to the color copy company. After he told me, I was sick.
Now, for guys like me, who 20 years prior to 2000, had completed a set of original Bear Grayling catalogs, it seemed unfair for anyone to be able to pay $50 to buy a complete set of Bear Grayling Catalogs on CD. But the CD was legal, so there was nothing any of us catalog collectors could do.
I still have all my original paper catalogs and use them almost daily. I also have the CD, but would much rather handle the paper, turn the pages, look at the ink stamp labels on the covers from old friends who I got the catalogs from.
Back to the serial numbers.
Doc - You have more invested than anyone in recording the serial number data for all of these years. So I can understand your feelings. I don't know what to advise you to do except I would not even give out your customer's first name. Not sure I would even give out the serial number of the customer's bow without the customer’s permission.
Perhaps the wisest thing for you to do is just make a list of the A-B-C risers that you have had in the shop, and give the total number of each to Bernie to aid in figuring out how many of each, A-B-C, were made. (Bernie, notice how I just casually volunteered you to do the B-C too.
Doc - You are in a much different situation than us guys who just have some risers and want to share information. You’ll have to figure out the right thing for you to. Sometimes these situations are tough.
I don't see the list raw data having much value for anyone to try to sell when anyone can get all the information for free by viewing the first page of this thread.
If this list grows to include several hundred risers, I don't see how anyone could ever write anything about Bear's A Risers (including an article or even a post on another thread) and not make some reference to the most complete list ever assembled (if it becomes that).
And if anyone ever writes a book about Fred Bear's Takedowns, they could not possibly ignore making reference to such a list.
Frankly, I hope this list helps spark someone into writing a book about Fred's Takedowns. Now that Al is gone, I have no idea who would write such a book, but I know for sure it won't be me because I don't have the T/D passion, experience, nor collection of T/Ds to even think about considering it.
Doc – I have a couple of suggestions for you regarding books…
Clean up your restoration ledger a bit, give it to a professional to have it transcribed with instructions to not include names, have it printed and sell the books.
Your restoration 101 thread is a book. If cleaned up, expanded a bit, and printed, it would probably be at the top of the Bow Collector's Best Seller List for next 10 years. After 10 years, your Second Edition would take its place.
Both would be your copyrighted books and if they were numbered, limited editions, nobody would fail to buy matching numbers.
I would like to order two matching numbered sets, #13 and #58.
Let me know the availability and cost.
Topic: Bear A Wood Risers - Serial Numbers - 1969-1972 (Read 7722 times)
