Over on Zoss (which I presume many of you read as well) I received some excellent advice on how to replace the nib on a Parker 51. (I'm certainly a pen-novice but not a novice tool user.)

Is there a brief guide / information on how to adjust the nib and flow on the 51? I'm in the beginning-learning phase, I've seen the 51 repair guide for sale and wondered if I should just buy that for my edification.

-f

nb/ot- I realize that the original 51 guide is sold by folks, and I could see selling originals but selling copies for well more than the duplication price seems to be a little sketchy (but a welcome service by many I suppose). If it's not presently secured under copyright, why doesn't someone scan it in and distribute it as PDF for free? (Perhaps someone has already done this?) Personally, I'd be more than happy to make and host a repository of PDFs of old manuals available for all, for free. I'd even scan them / OCR them Octavo style. I have some non-trivial experience doing this.

I understand I may be an outlier here, but as an academic / scientist I'm in the 'free sharing' of information camp, especially after its putative 'investment recovery' value is exhausted. These boards / you folks are really great people for sharing anecdotal information, which I greatly appreciate. On the other hand, I understand that recovering a small profit helps financially support the distribution of the knowledge. I wouldn't advocate, for example, scanning a currently copyrighted manual (like the 'da book' that I suppose I should also buy some day) but if its out-of-print I'm not quite as concerned.

As for the secreting of information by repair folks, there will always be a need for specialists, I do my own carpentry around the house, thanks to having been taught by books, experts, and fellow amateurs, but I leave my dental work to an expert. Not that I wouldn't be interested in learning self-dentistry, the tools seem sort of cool...

A fun debate for all but probably not for this board. Feel free to contact me back channel...

Yeah, I was kind of wondering about this as well....The price for copies of some pen company manuals seems steep to me as well (I understand you are paying for the time it takes to copy it, as well as the acquisition price too)...but more importantly, is this stuff not copyrighted in some way? I see a lot of car repair manual copies being sold on eBay

I believe the PCA (Pen Collectors of America) will provide you with copies of pen-related literature (quote from their site) "...for the nominal fee of 15 cents per page. Shipping within the U.S. is included in this price. For our members outside the U.S., please contact us for shipping fees. "

You have to be a member in order to partake of this service, but still...it's a nice idea.

The manuals are most likely still under copyright, but whoever owns them now (Newell Rubbermaid, most likely) wouldn't gain anything from enforcing the copyright. They aren't exactly making any money repairing 50-year-old Parkers.

You have to be brave to talk about copyright law these days, and IANAL, but:

the basic idea is that copyright exists in a work, by virtue of its nature and the process of its creation, that is, some things just inherently are copyright, some aren't. Like, books just are, so are poems and pieces of music.

How long this copyright lasts is subject to specific legislation, and varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, especially depending on how many congresspeople Disney has bought up recently.

Registration of copyright in the US has effects on one's ability to get a remedy for breach of copyright, but copyright is not like a patent -- you don't have to do anything legal-bureaucratic for it to exist.

I don't know what the implications of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act are in the US, but in ROW breach of copyright is a matter of civil law. So, if you publish the repair manual of the ReelyCheepPenz Co., it's up to them or their legal successors to mount a civil action for recovery of damages. So that kind of breach of copyright is, I guess, legally and ethically like moderately exceeding the speed limit on a deserted road in good conditions.

I would imagine it might be possible to get permission from one of the big companies to reprint their old repair manuals, but the procedures for getting this permission might be so long-winded that you'd be entitled to a good markup in compensation.

Note: I am not a lawyer. I am especially not a US lawyer, and I do not claim to have the faintest understanding of US intellectual property law, since it seems remarkably complex, subject to instant change, and largely designed to produce a predatory, or rather scavenging, group of IP companies (think SCO). If you intend to do anything remotely bordering on US IP law, you should hire a legal firm with good insider connexions in DC.

My advice is that you should most certainly not undertake any action on the basis of my advice.

Michael