A recent post in one of our Forum discussions asks how service manuals differ from fiction books. The argument is that anyone can buy and sell second-hand books at a fair or market, but there are restrictions on the sale of proprietary service manuals.
It's a good question, and no doubt a copyright expert will chime in.
But even superficially, one can see that there are risks associated with service manuals. If they fall into the "wrong hands" and are used to perform ill-informed "repairs" or modifications, there is a chance the company will somehow be blamed if anything goes wrong. And how does the buyer of a second-hand manual know that it is still relevant and takes into account any changes or updates in the product.
Surely, the publisher - in this case, the manufacturer - has the right to protect themselves against litigation?