info wanted on getting a plan published

[Mounty]

I am after some info on submitting a plan to this magazine for publication as follows, what would need to be sent in the original plan or a copy, plans in the magazine are very professional and look like the print has been typed in, is this a requirement, I have mountains of detail my plan which is not quite finished do I send photos of the build / test flights etc etc or just some photos and explanation to see if the model fits the bill? I have Peter Millers book and this has a lot of info and which spurred me on to try and get one in the mag.

As you can see it looks like I want a lot of info, if anyone can help please. Joe

 

 

   PS, I have a video of one of my own designs on youtube channel (joemountford1) if anyone would like to have a look.

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Hi Joe

 

Well best thing is to give us a call (direct phone no's are in every issue or have a look at the contact tab above) and have a chat. We can go from there.

 

You don't need a professionally drawn plan - we have plans sent in drawn in all sorts of ways from an impressive CAD drawing to those on wallpaper rolls or lining paper - in the case of the latter, we scan them onto the system and our draughtsman does the rest.

 

Photo wise, we can chat to you about that too of course. The first thing is to give us a call though to make sure it's something we'd like to use.

 

David 

[Mounty]

Thanks David, I have emailed you a couple of photos ahead of a conversation with you, I have tried your office a couple of times, what is the best time to call, this must sound a bit cheeky and I apologise if it does but I have got this great big itch that needs scratching i'm sure you undestand, Thanks again, Joe

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Thanks Joe, yup no problem.

Graham's back in the office on Friday so give him a call then, if that's ok, after 10.30. 01689 869863.

[Wingman]

After 10.30?? Eeeeasy Money

[Steve W-O]

Is it possible to disclose any copyright details on the forum?

 

The reason I ask is that about 5 years ago, I was approached by a magazine editor who wanted to use one of my projects in an article.

 

Part of the "deal" was that I was to give the magazine sole rights.

 

That meant that I would have to remove it from my website, and I could not allow anyone else to use it without the magazines permission.

 

As my hobbies are just that, and anything I do is freely available to others enjoying the same hobby, I did not like the idea.

 

I was told I was being paid for it (about £150 per page) so it was theirs after that.

 

My last message was that I didn't want paying for it, and they could use it if they wished, but so could anyone else.  this drew a rather nasty response.

 

The project has been used in other magazines since then without problem, and has been referred to by other major American publications.

 

The story goes deeper than this,  going into that isn't needed,  but the end result is that I wouldn't even consider contacting a UK magazine even if I had a winner (which I don't)

 

 

I have seen in other hobbies that there are some great ideas around, but we rarely get to hear about them, mainly because people don't know the ins and outs of submitting them and the implications.

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Hi Steve,

 

an interesting question. The forum is a publication - it is therefore subject to the same rules of copyright as any other publication - as far as I am aware.

 

The exact nature of the law of copyright is not generally well understood in my view. I should declare my hand at this point - as an academic working in a university I have to be well versed in the ins and outs of copyright.

 

Take your design as a case in point. If you produce a plan for your design then the laws of copyright protect that plan. Note - they protect the plan, the actual image, not the design. If for example I were to redraw your design, but in a different layout, thus effectively making a new plan, I would not be infringing your copyright. Only the actual original image is protected - not the idea. Copyright does not protect ideas only images.

 

In my career I have published over 80 papers in various "learned journals" the signing over of the copyright to the journal is quite normal practice. If I wish to reproduce in another publication some earlier result of mine - say a graph - then I have to ask permission. Normally such permission is freely granted provided clear acknowledgement is given to the primary source in a reference or footnote for example.

 

Similarly, under a standard international agreement, as a scholar I am allowed to photocopy upto 10% of any book as long as it is only for my "private study". But if I wish to include say a photograph from that material in publication of my own - I have to ask permission of the original works publisher - the copyright holder. Again such permission is usually a formality and is given on condition that the source is acknowledged in the new publication.

 

So in my experience most copyright holders are quite reasonable, as long as you play by the rules - and ask. Asking is a sort of courtesy in the publishing world.

 

Its possible your question is triggered by what happened on the Mass Build thread today. What actually happened there is the one forum member posted a link to an actual photographic image of pages of the magazine. Note it wasn't just the words that were being copied here - it was the image of whole pages of the mag. Now that would be a breech of copyright - if done without permission. Remember the magazine and forum are not the same thing! All I did was ask David, as a senior member of the magazine staff, for such permission,  which was immediately forthcoming from him. And so the links could be incorporated.

 

In my experience you only get into trouble with copyright when you do one of two things:

 

1. you don't extend to the copyright holder the courtesy of asking permission. Or,

 

2, You try to pass of as your own an image which someone else owns the copyright to.

 

Hope this is useful.

 

BEB

[Steve W-O]

BEB,

 

Thanks what you say is helpful, more questions though.

 

Taking you example of a plan, if I took a plan from the magazine, and redrew it, it seems it would not be protected by the magazine copyright?  Yet the elements that make up the plan are still the same shape, and easily identified as such.

I would have thought that would have been the same as taking part of a photograph.

 

You say the copyright covers only the image, not the idea, but what about text?

 

The question was not raised by events in the other thread, but purely on the questions in this thread.

 

I was not aware that it was common practice to assign copyright to the publisher, I could understand that if the publisher had commissioned the work, fair enough.

 

 

I am glad I did not give up rights to my project, I have had four requests to use it this year, from India, Romania, South Africa and the US. It's a hobby, and the more people share, the better it is! (it was not model aircraft)

 

 

Can it be assumed from what you say, that people submitting plans for publication give the magazine full rights to the plan as they publish it, but if they re-draw it differently, they can then sell copies?

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Steve - doesn't sound like RCM&E by the sounds of it. Not all UK mags are the same.

 

Some of our plan designers have slightly different arrangements with us and some sell their own copies, Tony Nijhuis being an obvious example. What we tend to be concerned about is people who blatantly sell copies for profit, you know, those who freqent auction sites etc.  

 

What I would say to anyone who has a design they'd like to see published is please don't fret about what you think you've heard, simply give us a call or drop an email with details and pics of the model - we'll be happy to chat, give feedback and, if both parties are happy, take things forward in a mutually agreeable manner.  

 

 

Edited By David Ashby - RCME Administrator on 31/12/2010 08:13:30

[Steve W-O]

Posted by David Ashby - RCME Administrator on 31/12/2010 08:12:05:

Steve - doesn't sound like RCM&E by the sounds of it. Not all UK mags are the same.

 

Some of our plan designers have slightly different arrangements with us and some sell their own copies, Tony Nijhuis being an obvious example. What we tend to be concerned about is people who blatantly sell copies for profit, you know, those who freqent auction sites etc.  

 

What I would say to anyone who has a design they'd like to see published is please don't fret about what you think you've heard, simply give us a call or drop an email with details and pics of the model - we'll be happy to chat, give feedback and, if both parties are happy, take things forward in a mutually agreeable manner.  

 

 

Edited By David Ashby - RCME Administrator on 31/12/2010 08:13:30

 

 

 

No, it most certainly wasn't RCM&E, here at least questions can be asked and answers got, with out snide comments!

 

It's too long ago to rehash the whole affair, was just my point that I was put off.

 

If I had something of interest, yes I would contact you or whoever was the right person.

 

 

I know what you mean about the auction sites.

 

I have bought some from ebay, but it is always the original with the magazine.

[Hugh Coleman]

Which would explain why the plans for Tony Nijhius' Supermarine S6b are not available on his own website. The rights to the plans are held by the original publication that he sold them to (Not RCM&E).

Cheers,

Hugh