D&D General Is it legal to scan books I own in hardcover to use on my iPad?

[Weiley31]

As far as I'm aware of, as long as you OWN the physical copy, you can download digital content, despite the source, as long as you own the physical.


That is the view point on game ROMs. I would surmise it's the same for books.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Paging @Mistwell , who is an actual lawyer, and IIRC, has experience in copyright law. I hate threads like this because so many non lawyers give their opinion like it's fact when it's not.

 

[billd91]

As far as I'm aware of, as long as you OWN the physical copy, you can download digital content, despite the source, as long as you own the physical.


That is the view point on game ROMs. I would surmise it's the same for books.

I'm pretty sure it's not kosher for books because it runs into one, inexorable fact - by downloading a digital book from someone who is not authorized to distribute it, you've participated in a copyright violation.

 

[Seramus]

Paging @Mistwell , who is an actual lawyer, and IIRC, has experience in copyright law. I hate threads like this because so many non lawyers give their opinion like it's fact when it's not.

Despite being a gloomy gus, you make an excellent point. I would recommend /r legaladvice as a fair place to get in touch with actual lawyers about issues like this. A few of them are even the holy combination of copyright lawyer AND gamer.

 

[delphonso]

The advice here is plenty - it's probably legal, and if it isn't, no one would care enough to hit you with it.

FYI, you can just copy past the SRD spells from on line resources I would think. I guess I never thought about the legality of it though.

Not sure, but since SRDs are incomplete and have all the same information (i.e., all SRDs will list the Orb of Dragonkind as their only example of an artifact) I'd reckon that SRDs have a list of acceptable free info from WotC. It can get you pretty far, but every SRD I've seen is missing spells/spell information - even from just the PHB.

That is the view point on game ROMs. I would surmise it's the same for books.

If I remember right - this was just an online rumor, and wouldn't hold up in court.

 

[Eltab]

Every time I play a spellcaster character, I type out the spell text by hand into my informal computerized "character sheet" - as an aid to memory.
I could equally create a "spell card" by fiddling with the format.

As long as you do not distribute it, nobody will do anything to you.
However if you charge money selling the copies, and WotC finds out, you will have hassles headaches and lawyers barging into your life.

 

[Horwath]

Many countries allow copying books for you personal use.
You cannot lend out a copy, as you can a physical book.
Also if you sell the original, you cannot keep the copy. Well, good luck enforcing that...

Off topic;
I remember buying my PHB3.0 with CD for character creation.
I Know that today it would be stupid to do so, but couldn't the books come with some "book key" that you would register on DND beyon for some reasonable fee and have that content from that book available to you. Like 5 or 10€?
Paying 30€ for a digital tool after paying 50€ for a books feels like grand larceny.

Off topic 2:
Copyright and intelectual property should return to the original 28 years of duration from publication. Or less.
Patent term is 20 years, but now copyright is 70 after authors death. And not to mention when a Corporation(Disney) gets a hold, it can last forever.

 

[dave2008]

Not sure, but since SRDs are incomplete and have all the same information (i.e., all SRDs will list the Orb of Dragonkind as their only example of an artifact) I'd reckon that SRDs have a list of acceptable free info from WotC. It can get you pretty far, but every SRD I've seen is missing spells/spell information - even from just the PHB.

Yes, the SRD doesn't have everything.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Is it legal to videotape broadcast TV?

 

[Swarmkeeper]

Is it legal to videotape broadcast TV?

Only if you promise not to fast forward through the commercials.