S-370D Service Manual - Scan PDF

[Reluctant1]

I appologize in advance if this has already been asked, but here goes. On other forums that I participate in, members try to share things like service bulletins, service manuals, operators manuals, etc. Someone with a good copy will scan their manual to a PDF and post a link to it for others to utilize. These old tractors are long out of production and sharing documents like this are invaluable to keep them operating.

Does anyone have one...? Is anyone willing to scan one and post it...?

 

[MasseyWV]

I appologize in advance if this has already been asked, but here goes. On other forums that I participate in, members try to share things like service bulletins, service manuals, operators manuals, etc. Someone with a good copy will scan their manual to a PDF and post a link to it for others to utilize. These old tractors are long out of production and sharing documents like this are invaluable to keep them operating.

Does anyone have one...? Is anyone willing to scan one and post it...?

The only problem is that most people who have service manuals had to purchase them. Scanning and posting them online for free would not only negate the fact that they were purchased, but also has the potential to violate copyright law, thus opening up the possibility that the person who did so could be sued by the copyright holder.

 

[Ilikeurtractor]

For some reason, the manuals for a lot of these outdated tractors are not readily available for *free* in PDF form on the net (or even in PDF format at all for that matter). I'm still not exactly sure why this is. Here are the only reasons I can think of:

1.) Most people who own these manuals don't feel like scanning them/posting them or don't know how.

2.) Some people might worry about copyright issues

3.) People who have the manuals feel that since they had to pay $ for them, so should everyone else

I could be very wrong, but I doubt that most "dealers" have permission to photocopy and sell manuals from the manufacturer but it's fairly easy to buy a photocopy for a price. I'm not sure how most dealers would feel about free copies floating around the internet. I have no idea what kind of profitability there is in manuals. I would think dealers might be better off having more people have easy access to part numbers and such.

Copyright issues are another whole topic I think a lot of people know little about (including myself). For instance, does Mitsubishi still maintain current copyrights on manuals in the U.S. for their S-370D service manual? If so, how do you (or can you) acquire the rights to distribute "copies". I don't know the answer to that question, but it's bound to come up sooner or later and I'm sure it already has.

I'd love to hear a moderator's take on this distribution of tractor published information from the legal standpoint.

Personally, I'd like to see manuals/service/design literature for out-of-production goods to be in the public domain and free to distribute assuming it does not infringe on any trade secrets. I don't think a parts/operator's/service manual for a Satoh Beaver does much good for anybody who doesn't own one or sell parts for them. I know this could be a touchy subject so I'll leave it at that.

 

[MasseyWV]

Copyright issues are another whole topic I think a lot of people know little about (including myself). For instance, does Mitsubishi still maintain current copyrights on manuals in the U.S. for their S-370D service manual? If so, how do you (or can you) acquire the rights to distribute "copies". I don't know the answer to that question, but it's bound to come up sooner or later and I'm sure it already has.

I recently created a TBN thread about copyright law, where the attached PDF file can shed some light on copyright law, as it pertains to tractor manuals.

Copyright Law - Public Domain

 

[Ilikeurtractor]

Hmmm. Just did some looking around this site and can't really find any info on posting manuals/excerpts of manuals from manufacturers. Anybody got any links to such?

 

[Ilikeurtractor]

I recently created a TBN thread about copyright law, where the attached PDF file can shed some light on copyright law, as it pertains to tractor manuals.

Copyright Law - Public Domain

I'll check it out, thanks!

 

[Ilikeurtractor]

Good grief. Like any legal document, there's way too much "mumbo jumbo" in there to clear things up for me. Thanks for pointing this out though Massey - it really should be available for people to reference, whether they comprehend it or not (me not in this case).

I guess in the end, if Mitsubishi is on your butt about a copyright issue then you better start worrying. Of course, if they sued me all I have to offer is my broken S373D tractor - I might spot them a copy of the service manual though for $50 to help fix it :laughing:

If you think about why manuals are created in the first place - to help people with operating and maintaining their tractors in this case, then I don't understand why it would be a big deal to make an electronic copy and distribute it. Of course, back then, electronic copies were mostly unheard of so that adds somewhat of a twist to it from a costing standpoint. I can understand someone wanting reimbursement for the paper/shipping/etc., but electronic copies carry such little "overhead" that it takes that arguement out of the picture.

I'd find it hard to believe that a tractor manufacturer would go after an individual for distributing a manual that could very well lead to their own sales of parts. But then again, it's all about legal correctness and not common sense, right?

 

[MasseyWV]

Good grief. Like any legal document, there's way too much "mumbo jumbo" in there to clear things up for me. Thanks for pointing this out though Massey - it really should be available for people to reference, whether they comprehend it or not (me not in this case).

Copyright law can be quite complex, with many grey areas. Like you, I'm anything but a Lawyer, and while I do understand much of the legal jargon, some of it is confusing, at best. :confused2:

 

[evan price]

I picked up an I&T manual at Tractor Supply. Price was reasonable, it was in stock, and it turned out that it worked great for my Buck. Sure I don't have all the parts lists but at least I know what parts go where.

 

[Reluctant1]

Well, I suspected that I would scare up a can of worms, but what is a forum for if you can't start a discussion. I have seen that the manual that appears to be available is from Jensales which appears to have started with a copy and enhanced it in some fashion.

"Jensales makes the highest quality reproduction manuals in the world. We start with all original graphics and data, and where possible; add updates, pictures and after market specifications not available originally. Additionally, we comb bind our manuals for unbeatable durability and ease of use. Many people agree that our manuals are better than the originals."

These tractors have been out of production for many years and Mitsubishi doesn't even support them any more. This is why I was inquiring to see if there were any scans available as Mitsubishi doesn't appear to make them available electronically as many manufactures do via their websites. I will check with Tractor Supply, but my guess is that they are selling this very Jensales version.