can you sell pdfs?

[jaerdaph]

Oh, and jaerdaph - I actually have a legal university degree Still doesn't make me any more convincing than all the other McJobbers here, eh?

Actually, no, since you're anonymous behind a screen name and could say pretty much anything. Not that you're doing that and I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but still...

 

[Nellisir]

Of course, this is offset by the fact that most PDFs are significantly cheaper than their print counterparts. There are notable exceptions, such as WotC's PDFs of 3.X books.

And on that note, I found out just the other day that almost all the pdf Scarred Lands material is $4.99, including the hardbound campaign books. Creature Collections were $9.99. Still, it's a good deal. I was looking for exactly that sort of material (some nice fluff to give me ideas, and some nice crunch to steal).

 

[Ghost2020]

Hell, I'd be happy if they had more obvious, or any at all, the notice to print the documents.

The people at Kinkos and what not are a bit hesitant to do that, even if it says "purchaser allowed to print for own purposes".

Cripes.

YEah, total threadjack. I know.

 

[Merkuri]

Move the same version you downloaded to a USB, the n transfer that to the new owner.

That's not really the same version of the file, though. Even if you choose the "move" instead of "copy" option on your computer all that does is copy it and delete the original for you. Your computer cannot actually ever move the "same version" of a file because the file is only a pattern of electromagnetic signals. You can't actually move a pattern, you can only recreate it somewhere else.

In fact, if you have the PDF open right now you have at least two copies on your machine already. One is on the hard drive and one is in your computer's memory. You might even have three copies, if you count the bits that go through the processor, and four if you count the bits that your video card processes to display the PDF on your monitor. If you were sent this PDF by email then there probably is (or was) a fifth copy on your email server. If you ever moved that PDF from one hard drive to another on your machine then it's possible one copy still exists in your "recycle bin" or as a ghost on the original hard drive, accessible with the right software.

Which one of these is the original? And how thoroughly are you expected to clean your computer to make sure all copies of the PDF are gone when you resell it to somebody else?

The tricky thing here is that a PDF is not a physical item. There is nothing you can point to and say "this is my PDF", just like there's nothing in your brain you can point to and say, "this is my consciousness." I don't know about in the EU, but in the US the law leans towards the idea that things that are purely digital are not resellable. As others have said, this is being debated, but at the moment I believe that you cannot legally resell PDFs.

 

[darthkilmor]

If the pdf had some kind of encryption, and the only way to decrypt it would be to log in to a kind of pdf-controller website, then 'selling' or trading pdf's you bought would be easy in that kind of framework. Especially if you couldnt (easily) print them, then its more like an actual product than just one more copy.(This is ignoring screenshot/OCR software/hackery).

Its the same with any digital product though. You buy an mp3 and don't like it, what do you do? Pound Sand, pretty much.

 

[hong]

See? Yes you can AND no you can't!

Welcome to the law firm of Boyd, Dewey, Cheatham and Howe!

When did Boyd join the firm? They were only Dewey, Cheathem and Howe in Leisure Suit Larry 3....

 

[jmucchiello]

Move the same version you downloaded to a USB, the n transfer that to the new owner.

What if you backed up your hard drive? Your backup still has a copy of the PDF. Did you remember to delete all copies?

I know the response. "Who does backups?"

 

[Elephant]

No, you can never sell it, because you cannot transfer ownership of the original purchase. You can only give a copy. There is no physical way to sell the original PDF (short over giving someone the harddrive that it is on).

That is the whole point of FIRST SALE DOCTRINE. It applies to the original item, not copies. It is physically not possible to sell the original of a PDF.

Likewise, it is physically impossible to buy the original of the pdf. Instead, you get a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy...out to the 30th or 40th copy, if you count the copies that get made on all the routers and switches between your PC and the server.

 

[Glyfair]

If you ever moved that PDF from one hard drive to another on your machine then it's possible one copy still exists in your "recycle bin" or as a ghost on the original hard drive, accessible with the right software.

Indeed, if you ever defragged your hard drive there is a good chance that a copy of a PDF on your hard drive is no longer the "original" copy (after all, you are copying the file from the seller's master copy).

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Honestly, in my opinion, you are far better off just asking the publisher for a refund.