On Sat, 23 Apr 2005 07:52:57 -0400, Spehro Pefhany
wrote:

One could argue that the copyright infringement unnaturally prolongs the useful life of
unsupported HP/Agilent instruments, thus reducing the overall market
for new instruments.

On the other hand, providing fee manuals encourages folks who are
RESPONSIBLE FOR making corporate PURCHASING decisions, to buy nice
vintage HP equipment on eBay for hobby use. This is a great way to
promote NEW EXPENSIVE HP product into the corporate environment. If
folks end up purchasing Keithley for hobby use just because they can
download the manuals, they might come to see that some of the Keithley
stuff is quite nice.

Also, each and every time a lawyer sends out a cease and desist in the
name of protecting his client's interests, he can bill for his
service. I'll bet that depending on the arrangement, he can often do
this on his own initiative.

Stepan