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<blockquote data-quote="Merkuri" data-source="post: 4132039" data-attributes="member: 41321">That's not really the same version of the file, though.&nbsp; Even if you choose the &quot;move&quot; instead of &quot;copy&quot; option on your computer all that does is copy it and delete the original for you.&nbsp; Your computer cannot actually ever move the &quot;same version&quot; of a file because the file is only a pattern of electromagnetic signals.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; One is on the hard drive and one is in your computer's memory.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; If you were sent this PDF by email then there probably is (or was) a fifth copy on your email server.&nbsp; 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 &quot;recycle bin&quot; or as a ghost on the original hard drive, accessible with the right software.Which one of these is the original?&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; There is nothing you can point to and say &quot;this is my PDF&quot;, just like there's nothing in your brain you can point to and say, &quot;this is my consciousness.&quot;&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; As others have said, this is being debated, but at the moment I believe that you cannot legally resell PDFs.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Merkuri, post: 4132039, member: 41321"] 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. [/QUOTE]

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