Re: [ARSCLIST] copyright and archives query

[Mwcpc6@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 3/25/2007 4:15:04 PM Eastern Daylight Time,  
jtroutman@xxxxxxxxxxxx writes:

and  steven, that's a horror story if i ever heard one.   i have   
utilized plenty of city, state, and federal government archives,   
newspaper archives, and public and private libraries, but this is my   
first venture into seeking corporate archives.  i guess i've  been  
pretty lucky up to this point.  using ledgers as  insulation?  that's  
the sort of thing that breaks my  heart.  


********************
 
Many years ago when I worked for Kodak I bought a "Cine Special" 16mm movie  
camera, the model used for the original Disney time lapse sequences.  I  found 
in an ad in an old National Geographic that said that each  of the original 
purchases of the camera would have their name entered into a  permanent ledger 
for all time.
 
I went to the curator of the division's patent museum, which still existed  
at that time, and asked to see the record for my camera's serial number. He  
became quite perturbed and went on a rant about how all the records of that  
product had simply been thrown into a dumpster by a young production supervisor  
on a cleanup campaign.
 
Much later the company became involved in major patent and antitrust  
litigation at a time when new disclosure laws began to require that all  documents in 
any way relating to the issues be made available  for examination by the 
plaintiff's lawyers. This involved hauling literally  truckloads of paper to a 
special location where engineers who could have been  involved in product 
development spent years determining the relevancy of these  documents.
 
After that, a firm rule was established that NO documentation was to be  
retained unless it was essential for current production. I doubt that one can  
expect to obtain much historical information from corporate archives, in the US  
at least.
 
Mike Csontos



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