Would this annoy you?

[billbenson]

I'm a distributor of some technical products. Most companies such as mine put pdf manual links on their site. Visitor clicks on the link and the pdf opens on their pc. They can then save it if they want to.

I don't currently put pdf manuals and brochures on my site. It forces the customer to call or email me for them. If I get them on the phone its a selling opportunity. I just say they aren't on the site right at the moment but I can email you the manual. I can also see if they are a prospect while I have them on the phone and if so send them a quote. I'm sure this annoys some customers but it dramatically increases my sales.

I'm thinking of changing what I do to the following: If they want a pdf manual, have them enter an email into a form and click on the manual they want. I could also include on the form fields for part numbers and quantities and generate a quote to place in the email. Again, I'm sure the customer would probably rather just click on the pdf link, but this way they get an email from me with my contact information. Note that the only thing they would need to enter on the form is their email. How much would this annoy you?

[Business Attorney]

I don't know if "annoy" is the right word, but when I am looking for a manual online, I want it THEN. Even if your site says that you have an automated process and will send the manual immediately, I'd probably be skeptical and keep looking for a downloadable copy.

If I have already looked and believe that getting the manual from you by email is my only choice, I would probably give you my email address. I might be annoyed at not finding the manual online but I don't think I would be annoyed at your site, which at least made the manual available.

[billbenson]

What I'm trying to do by this is automate my selling process a bit but still getting my contact information to the customer. The fact that I won't be talking to all prospects will probably cost me some sales. The other side of the coin is that I may talk to more "real" prospects and not spend as much time on the phone with people that want information but aren't going to buy. I have no idea if this would hurt or help sales. I do know that if I get a real prospect on the phone I have a very high closure rate. Part of the high closure rate is getting the prospect a quote, product information as quickly as possible which is why I spend as much time as I do automating tasks like getting a quote to a customer.

[MyITGuy]

Are the manuals you provide available elsewhere?

I ask as I'm in the same boat as David (Business Attorney), when I'm looking for information I want it then and I want it now (I do my research/review of products after hours, just like you do your programming during downtime which normally means any sales people I would need to talk to aren't available anyways.). I don't want the hassle of having to call someone and dealing with a sales pitch and I don't want to submit any identifiable information that may result in a sales person contacting me or my information being sold to someone else.

If I can't find this information elsewhere, I may eventually place the call or submit the information but only if I'm really interested in your product/service.

[billbenson]

It's somewhat difficult to find the manuals on the internet. I think that 90% or more of the internet surfers would end up back on my site if they continued searching. They are available on the manufacturers site, but its very hard to navigate to them. Most competitors sites would only have a small portion of the products. I have about 1500 products on my site of about 4000 that I would like to have there.

[nealrm]

It would annoy me. If at all possible I would get the manuals elsewhere. If I could not you would get one of my disposable email address, an fake phone number and a name like "Don't call me". I really hate having to provide contact information for thing as simple as manuals.

Instead I would offer the manuals as easy downloads. As part of the download I would include your name, contact information and something like "If you need additional help or have question you can email or contact me at ________"

[billbenson]

In as much as the pdf manuals are copyrighted documents from the manufacturer, is editing them to add my contact info or adding a page at the beginning with my information a copyright violation?

[Blessed]

In as much as the pdf manuals are copyrighted documents from the manufacturer, is editing them to add my contact info or adding a page at the beginning with my information a copyright violation?

I wouldn't think so - in my line of work I've added contact info about a specific distributor to a manufacturer's either electronic or pre-printed manual. Usually the manufacturer has a space blocked out for that information to go in.
Of course this is a simple Graphic Designer's opinion... not a legal experts opinion!

[vangogh]

Annoy isn't the right word for me. If I'm on your site and I want information to make a purchasing decision and it isn't there, I'd leave. I wouldn't contact you for it. I would assume I could find the information elsewhere. Even if I wasn't sure if the information was elsewhere, I would think a little more searching would be quicker than contacting you. I'd bet what you're doing isn't forcing most potential customers to call you. I would think it's mainly sending them to your competitors who do put the information online. Some contact you, but I'd think more go to other sites.


In as much as the pdf manuals are copyrighted documents from the manufacturer, is editing them to add my contact info or adding a page at the beginning with my information a copyright violation?

Does the manufacturer allow this? If they don't and what you're adding makes it look like you're the manufacturer in any way I would thing that's a no no that could get you in trouble. If the PDF is copyrighted at all I don't think you can distribute it without the manufacturer's permission. I'm not a lawyer though.

[Steve B]

It would surely annoy me and I wouldn't give my e-mail address in that situation. It's possible you are also losing sales from this approach. Maybe you're not losing as much sales as you gain by forcing people to call you - but you might be surprised if you were able to measure it.

[nealrm]

We deal with something similar to this on real estate websites. Some agents force clients to provide contact information to see the listings some do not. In general those that require the information get more leads, but those leads are of low quality. (Bad information, bogus phone numbers, etc). Those that do NOT require the information get fewer leads, but those leads are of a higher quality. In general, they are people that want to be contacted.

On the copyright. Yes the contents of the PDF is copyrighted, but you may still have the right to distribute it. Check the copyright notice in the PDF or from where ever you received the original PDF. In many causes the manufacture will allow seller to distribute the manual. I don't believe that adding a contact page to the PDF would count as editing the contents of the manual, provided it was separate from the manual.

[Business Attorney]

In the absence of a license, allowing people to download a manufacturer's manual violates the manufacturer's copyright. I don't think that adding your contact information makes it any worse. On the other hand, if the manufacturer grants a license to dealers to republish the manual, in many cases the license says something to the effect of providing copies of the entire manual with all copyright notices intact, and without additions or deletions. In those cases, your adding contact information might be a violation of your license.

On the whole, I suspect that a typical manufacturer is going to be fine with you adding your contact information but that is a business issue, not a legal right.

[nealrm]

David,
Here is a question for you. The copyright clearly applies to the contents of the manual but does it apply to the PDF file? Are/can they (be) separate? Would the PDF file be viewed as a container holding the manual or is it viewed as the manual itself?

In the hardcopy world, if you have permission to distribute the manual the terms are similar to what you stated above. If you were to hand them the manual and a separate loose sheet of paper with your contact information, it would not be an issue. Would not a PDF files be the electronic version of that type of distribution?

[Business Attorney]

The copyright always applies to the content, not to the container. Whether I distribute someone's material as a pdf, jpeg, mov or strip out the formatting and distribute it as a text file, it's all the same from a legal standpoint.

The question, really, is what the copyright owner allows you to do with the material (which I broadly refer to as the license). If the owner says it has to be distributed in this container (the pdf) and you can't put anything else in the same container, then doing so violates your license. If you are not complying with the terms of the license, then you are violating the copyright.

I don't think most manufacturers would care, as long as the contact information was presented in a manner that clearly distinguished between it and the manufacturer's copyrighted material. But in the end, the terms of the license controls.

[billbenson]

The consensus seems pretty definitive :)

It would annoy me as well which is why I wanted other opinions - thanks for the input.

As far as a policy on editing the pdf or if the pdf's have a space for distributor information, the answer is no on both counts. It would be very difficult for me to get special permission. Oh, and steve, I would never replace their logo or contact info, just add mine.

@ Steve B - I have more product and pricing information on my site than any competitors that I know of. Its actually easier to navigate than the actual manufacturers site. Also, the products tend to be a consultative sell. Some customers know exactly what they want and order that way. In my particular case I'm sure getting them on the phone dramatically increases my closure rate. I can't remember a pissed of customer because he had to call me.

So its a catch 22. When I talk to someone just looking for a manual and turn it into an order that's great and very common. When I spend time on the phone with someone with technical questions but will never buy, that's a negative. In the latter case, as a matter of courtesy I answer their questions and some people are pretty long winded. Meanwhile, other actual buyers may be calling me.