Legality Question


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jaerdaph said:
Here's a really good article about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998:

http://iatservices.missouri.edu/techknowledge/05-2003/security.html

According to that site it may indeed be legal.

DMCA Violations
You could violate federal copyright law if:

Somebody e-mails copyrighted material to you and, in turn, you forward it to one or more friends.

You make an MP3 copy of a song from a CD that you bought (purchasers are expressly permitted to do so) but subsequently make the MP3 file(s) available on the Internet using a file-sharing network.

According to the first statement I'd be in trouble if I forwarded it... not if I only received it (distribution).
On the second statement is says that purchasers are allowed to make copies but once again it is distribution that is illegal.

If I download it then I am receiving it similar to the first instance. Since I purchased the book I am entitled to a copy in another format. It seems distribution is the illegal part which is why I am guessing that the RIAA isn't going against EVERYONE who shares files.

Edit: Since I can't seem to get a clear answer I guess I won't bother with the PDF. It really isn't that clear... in some cases it seems that if I took my book to a friends house so they could scan it for me it would be illegal because I personally wasn't the one scanning it on my equipment. I personally don't see why it matters as to who owned that particular copy of the book that was scanned as long as they were from the same edition and there were no changes (no downloading a copy of a 3.5 PHB just because you bought a 3.0 PHB). You are getting the same material that you paid for... just in a different format.
 
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I'm sure if you call the publisher of the book, they'll send you a non-damaged copy. Many times, publishers are not even aware of these problems unless an individual consumer alerts them.
 

Djeta Thernadier said:
I'm sure if you call the publisher of the book, they'll send you a non-damaged copy. Many times, publishers are not even aware of these problems unless an individual consumer alerts them.

Actually Fantasy Flight is well aware of the issue. They've had NUMEROUS returns because of the defect.

The issue isn't really about my book. I'm just curious about the legality of downloading a PDF for a book that I've bought a paper copy of. :)

In regards to my book I'm thinking about using this as an excuse to get it leather bound since Midnight is my new favorite campaign setting. :lol:
 
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jaerdaph said:
It is illegal to download copyrighted information from the Internet without the permission of the person owning the copyright. Under federal law, the copyright owner may bring an action in court that may result in civil liability or even criminal prosecution.

Joe, I think you're being somewhat dogmatic. Federal law does not apply outside of the US: so it can be legal for some people but illegal for others. Even the article you linked to refers to the uploading/downloading distinction:

...violators claim to be unaware that they were distributing (as opposed to downloading, which can also be illegal) copyrighted works across the MU network.

They say downloading can be (as opposed to is) illegal, there's certainly no suggestion that it automatically is. In fact it seems that the distinction is the basis of the "downloading is legal" decision in Canada.

http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5121479.html
 

You forgot this one:

"You join a file-sharing network and download unauthorized copies of copyrighted material you want from the computers of other network members."

:)
 

No, legally, you can't own a PDF copy of it. You can't make a copy of anything as a "backup" unless it happens to be software, as there is a special provision that allows you to make up a backup of software. Some people try to apply it to everything else, from books to cds to dvds, but it's simply not legal.

If you want an mp3 of a song you have on cd, technically you have to buy an mp3 from itunes or someplace else. Some say it's fair use, but that doesn't seem to fall under the standards of fair use

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

Anyhoo, even if you were president, and wanted to change things, you couldn't, because it's pretty much up to the legislative branch. And both parties are very much on the payroll of the big media companies (Disney pretty much owns Fritz Hollings lock, stock & barrell)

Still, is it moral? IMHO, you should just have to buy something once, so I tend to disagree with the law, but....
 


IANAL.

Legally, you're in limbo. Let's take the closest analogy: making a cassette tape copy of a CD you own. As near as i can tell, the RIAA thinks that's illegal copying, but not worth the effort to prosecute. The court rulings i'm aware of (such as the one making VCRs legal) seem to imply that the RIAA is right: if you buy one copy of a work, and end up with two copies (through personal duplication), you've done something wrong. Now, where it really gets fuzzy is the sometimes-legal proposition of archival copies. In many cases (software installer CDs come immediately to mind) it is perfectly legal to make a copy for backup purposes only--IOW, in case your original is lost or destroyed. The implication is taht at no time will you have more than one "functional" copy--because the backup is locked away until you no longer have the original. Now, i suppose you could argue that you never use the hardcopy and the digital copy at the same time (assuming that's true), and so it's no different from making a cassette copy to listen in the car, but using the original CD at home (and they aren't both used at the same time). But, remember, other than software installers (and works owned by a library), i don't know that this is ever legal--it may be just a case of the copyright holders turning a blind eye, or not being able to functionally do anything about it.

But, if you want two functional copies, we'll have to turn to Fair Use, IMHO. Fair Use certainly allows you to make a single copy of a single page of a book to use in addition to the book, even simultaneously--such as so that you could have the book sitting open to one page, and still have the other page accessible. Fair Use certainly does not allow you to give copies to others, to make multiple copies, or to copy the entire work [with some exceptions for educational institutions--and, no, teaching your friends Midnight doesn't count :D ]. Anything between those two extremes is pretty much up in the air--though the closer it gets to the former, the more likely it is legal, and closer it gets to one of the latter, the less likely.

So, to your particular situation. My interpretation is that you may scan your book and use the digital copy, even if you still have the hardcopy. You may not loan one (say, the book) to a friend while still using the other (in this case, the PDF). You may not download someone else's digital scan of the book--while the end result is the same as if you had scanned your own copy, the means make it nonetheless illegal, because you are participating in illegal copying.

That's legally. Morally, i'd say it's fine provided the following things are true:
  • you own the book (as you've already said)
  • you do not use both copies simultaneously--no fair loaning your friend the hardcopy because you can just use the digital one
  • FFG is not now distributing a commercial digital copy
  • should FFG start distributing a commercial digital copy, you either buy the legal digital copy, or destroy your illegal digital copy
  • you do not distribute the digital copy--you can't control what others do, but you can make sure that you're not facillitating illegal/immoral activity
 
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jaerdaph said:
You forgot this one:

"You join a file-sharing network and download unauthorized copies of copyrighted material you want from the computers of other network members."

:)

Not necessarily... someone had to have bought the copy that was then scanned. So there is at least one authorized copy and if I download that authorized copy which becomes my authorized copy because I too bought an authorized copy. Geez... how many times did I have to use the word "authorized"? :confused:
 

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