Unfortunately the wayback machine hasn’t archived the manuals
https://web.archive.org/web/20220408003802/https://magusinstrumentalis.com/?page_id=51
going forward, perhaps the manuals should be archived on library.vcvrack.com - or the modules removed from sale if the manuals are no longer available.
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Good call on way back. At least the file names are built into the links. I’m going to see if I can search for those files.
If I find them, I’ll post them here.
Not yet ported to ARM.
yet? Has the company indicated that they are going to do this?
I have the manuals saved, back when I bought these. Is it okay to attach them here?
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They are probably copyright to the original authors? I think unless it says “you are free to distribute copies of this” then it is by default copyright? But I’m no lawyer.
Yes, this is naturally the case. That’s why I’m waiting for someone from Magus to say it’s okay.
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Unless the manual explicitly prohibits it, I don’t think it would be a problem since it’s likely abandonware… But I also don’t want to be the one to push you to do it. 
Maybe it’s quicker to write them directly? I found two e-mail addresses in the library: ryan@magusinstrumentalis.com and david@magusinstrumentalis.com. Has anyone tried those yet? I doubt it will work (since the website is down), but we can try sending a message.
I know of no exceptions if copyright law for abandonware. I don’t think there is one.
" Typically, the public law duration of a copyright expires 50 to 100 years after the creator dies, depending on the jurisdiction. Some countries require certain copyright formalities[5] to establishing copyright, others recognize copyright in any completed work, without a formal registration. When the copyright of a work expires, it enters the public domain."
That said, it seems awfully unlikely that someone would come after you for such a copyright violation.
just adding that the documents were freely available to anyone, not just their paying customers. (see link above).
I suggest making the manuals publicly available again via https://archive.org/create/ - and link them here.
PS. Ive mailed Ryan at berklee.edu asking if it’s ok to make the documents available.
He has a contact form too: Software – Ryan Page
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I don’t know what sort of agreement the developers make with VCV, regarding materials, specifically, but in cases like this, in my opinion the cleanest and most well-organized manner to distribute the manuals would be hosting them directly on the VCV site, and making the manual links on the module page(s) point to those site links. As the modules are available in the library, and cost money, even, this would be good policy when a developer site goes down. It would need to be mentioned in an agreement somewhere, though. (As in, if the modules stay in the library, the manuals can also be hosted there, if so inclined, and especially if they aren’t available at the developer’s end anymore.)
Unfortunately I cannot send these manuals privately (some have asked in PM), as I do not have the rights to redistribute these. If someone chimes in, who can give a permission to go ahead and put these online, here or somewhere else, then I’ll of course do it. Maybe these could even be hosted on the VCV site and linked from the library, it would make a nice precedent? Anyway, I hope you understand; even if it’s minuscule/trivial, I don’t want to end up being the person who takes the (very insignificant but still) legal risk here 
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Hi Everyone,
Ryan from Magus Instrumentalis here. I apologies for all of the issues folks have had accessing our materials. David and I started this in grad school as a way of funding some tools we wanted to have accessible and for composers like David Dunn to use. We are now working professionally as researchers and educators and have not had the time to maintain support here. You all have my permission to share manuals freely and I will make a point to host those materials on my website. They are also currently documented in my Ph.D. dissertation: https://escholarship.org/content/qt83d7b7dz/qt83d7b7dz.pdf which I basically did as a sort of last resort to keep the documents protected. We did not copyright the manuals and you are free to do what you want with them. To be honest we only see a relatively small number of purchases on an annuals at this point and i assumed since we winded down the interest would be minimal. Now that I am aware of this, I will make a greater effort to make these resources available to you all. It’s really amazing that you all are finding what we did interesting enough years later to seek this out. I will do my best to check in and answer questions when possible.
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We’re not, sadly. The modules are still available, but we are not supporting them at this point. I can have them taken down, theoretically. I guess it depends on what the community wants. I do want to make it clear that they are not supported and we did not update them for ARM. I will do my best to provide any archive materials as I find them and keep them on my personal website.
Thank you. I really appreciate the interest in what we were doing.
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Great! Thanks for letting us know, and wishing you all the best for your current and future endeavors!
Here are the Madness Suite manuals I have:
Azathoth-Manual-2.pdf (214.7 KB) Hastur-Manual-1.pdf (168.0 KB) Nyarlathotep-Manual-2.pdf (210.9 KB) Shoggoth-Manual-1.pdf (348.5 KB) Yog-Sothoth-Manual.docx-1.pdf (216.7 KB)
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" Furthermore, the law specifically allows people to transfer their copyrights in part or in whole. Note: a transfer of copyright ownership is not valid unless it is in writing and signed by the owner."
They are nice modules with a character of their own, I think having them in the library is a good thing. Maybe making them freeware instead of premium modules might work, too - I mean, if they are “basically abandoned” nowadays?
If someone asks for a transfer of copyrights, this is good to know.
well, I don’t think anyone is going to sue anyone, but the law is that authors have a copyright by default, and apparently even if they say “oh, it’s ok” it’s still technically illegal. Like I say, I’m sure you are 100% safe from repercussions, but I doubt that VCV would like for their board to be used for things that are technically illegal, or might be .