[Not a bug] Date Available Changed During Product Copy

I have been using the copy function to copy products within a category, because I have many (64) products that are very similar, but I need unique item numbers (attributes won't work in this case).

I have been leaving the 'Date Available' field empty, but when I use the copy function, the copied items have the 'Date Available' field set to "0001-01-01". I can then clear the field and save the product, and the field will then remain blank, even through multiple edits and upgrades.

While I'm not sure that this would rise to the level of a bug, the field is perfectly happy being blank unless I am using the copy function. I am running version 1.3.7.

This is not a bug. It is by design.

Zen Cart normally uses 0001-01-01 as a "blank" date because some database engines don't like to use blanks for date fields ... because "nothing" is not formatted as "xxxx-xx-xx" etc.

Zen Cart operates fine with the date available as 0001-01-01.