PDF Sales?
- Thread starter kmdietri
- Start date
Alzrius
The EN World kitten
Not at this time, no.
You can subscribe to the DDI.
CapnZapp
Legend
No, you cannot get the PDFs legally.
If someone is willing to send you their legally-obtained copy and delete it from their own systems, then you can, in fact, legally obtain a copy of the PDFs that were formerly available for purchase on various websites. Find someone who bought the PDFs you want and who is willing to sell them to you.
Voadam
Legend
No. They are still not for sale. DDI can get you the rules bits in a convenient searchable form and pdfs of dragon and dungeon, but that's it for legal electronic format of WotC books.
There are a bunch of 3pp 4e pdfs available for sale.
Goodman Games has lots of modules, class and race books, and monster books.
Fiery Dragon has the 4e Creature Collection and a ton of 4e counters, including ones for the WotC modules.
Highmoon Games now distributes the formerly One Bad Egg 4e stuff (The Shroud, Poisoncraft, etc.)
Alluria Publishing puts out a race series.
Adamant Entertainment has done a module and a bunch of small supplements like new warlock pacts.
Expeditious Retreat Press has done a class book, a series of encounter locations, and a full fairy taleish setting.
Mongoose has put out the Wraith Recon Military Fantasy Campaign Setting and 2 4e Quintessential class books.
So if you like 4e pdfs there is still material out there for sale, just not from WotC.
El Mahdi
Muad'Dib of the Anauroch
I would seriously ... VERY SERIOUSLY ... recomend getting the advice of a lawyer if you intend on following the advice of people on the internet (especially the above advice).
I am not a lawyer, so I don't KNOW if the above would be legal or not (although my opinion is that it probably isn't). But, I'm pretty sure Squizzle isn't a lawyer either, and also doesn't KNOW if his advice is legal or not (although his opinion is probably that it is).
The bottom line is: There is no legal way to acquire an official 4E product pdf. (Except 3pp, and Dragon/Dungeon on DDI).
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Mahdi's right that I'm not a lawyer and do not give legal advice, but I do try my best to understand my consumer rights under the doctrine of first sale. To put it another way: I would be willing to make a purchase under such an arrangement if I were in the market for a 4E PDF. Here are a few links found in a very quick Google search:
U.S. Copyright Office - Copyright Law: Chapter 1
First Sale Doctrine of Copyright Law | IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Patent Law
90% Crud: Does the Right of First Sale Still Exist?
It’s Still A Duck: Court Re-Affirms That First Sale Doctrine Can Apply to “Licensed” Software | Electronic Frontier Foundation
Copyright: examples and explanations - Google Books
U.S. Copyright Office - Copyright Law: Chapter 1
First Sale Doctrine of Copyright Law | IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Patent Law
90% Crud: Does the Right of First Sale Still Exist?
It’s Still A Duck: Court Re-Affirms That First Sale Doctrine Can Apply to “Licensed” Software | Electronic Frontier Foundation
Copyright: examples and explanations - Google Books
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Remus Lupin
Adventurer
Every time I see these threads on PDFs come up, particuarly in regard to the potential legal consequences of exchanging them, I become more convinced that we need to seriously rethink the way copyright and intellectual property law works in the United States.
I regularly rely on the principle of fair use in my own work, and it seems that creeping absolutism on the use of copyrighted materials will eventually erode that doctrine, in addition to making the reasonable exchange of digitally encoded copyrighted materials more and more difficult to accomplish.
But then, I sometimes get a bit apocalyptic about these things, so maybe not.
I regularly rely on the principle of fair use in my own work, and it seems that creeping absolutism on the use of copyrighted materials will eventually erode that doctrine, in addition to making the reasonable exchange of digitally encoded copyrighted materials more and more difficult to accomplish.
But then, I sometimes get a bit apocalyptic about these things, so maybe not.
El Mahdi
Muad'Dib of the Anauroch
One has to be careful about taking advice on the internet, but you bring up a very interesting concept. There's some interesting reading there (thanks for the links).
It is interesting that you can sell an used book no problem. Once you buy it, it's yours to do with as you please (except make and sell copies of it, excepting copies for personal use/fair use). So, why wouldn't it be legal to sell or give away your pdf (and delete your original copy)? I'm betting that legally, you're still making a copy of the pdf, and really have no way of proving definitively you've deleted your copy. But, it's a very thought provoking scenario.
Maybe if some kind of document format were developed where you could copy the file to a new location (different folder, thumbdrive, CD/DVD, transfer to another hard drive, etc.) but when you do it, the original file is automatically deleted. That would be interesting. Of course though, someone would eventually crack the format so it doesn't automatically delete, so...
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