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<blockquote data-quote="Arrowhawk" data-source="post: 5694570" data-attributes="member: 6679551">As you point out, the system is no longer supported by WotC and most if not all of the books are out of print.&nbsp; Which means WotC isn't going to litigate over someone downloading a bunch of PDFs.&nbsp; At this point, it's unlikely WotC would make a dime off of someone buying the books, unless you bought the books directly from WotC, assuming you even can.&nbsp; WotC has far more to gain by people having free access to 3.5 stuff than they do by enforcing their copyright.&nbsp; It'll cost them tens of thousands of dollars to litgate someone for downloading a $10-15 book.&nbsp; At most they'll get statutory damages which is $750 at the low end, and that might not even cover the cost of a cease and desist letter at a major law firm.&nbsp;If WotC were even remotely concerned about protecting the copyright from PDF downloads, there wouldn't be half a dozen sites where someone can obtain this material.&nbsp;&nbsp; The only reason WotC would start to take notice is if you start selling the books.&nbsp;WotC would love for hundreds of thousands of people to start playing 3.5 in the hopes that some of those people will eventually &quot;upgrade&quot; to 4e.&nbsp; People playing 3.5 means they might buy dice, they might buy maps, figurines, related novels, and other RPGs.&nbsp; Game stores benefit.&nbsp; It's easily the best of both worlds for WotC that that these books are available freely without them having to give up their copyright protection.&nbsp;If there is a group who might be motivated to act it would be the distributors.&nbsp; But most of them don't have any right to bring a suit and even if they did contractually, it still wouldn't be worth it.&nbsp; And since most of these books are written by a team, it is unlikely that any royalties are involved for the authors. &nbsp;Is it technically illegal to download copyprotected material?&nbsp; Yes.&nbsp; But it's technically illegale to speed. And speeding endangers people's lives...not their pocketbooks.&nbsp;Just to be 100% clear, I am not advocating piracy or the infringment of anyone's rights.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Arrowhawk, post: 5694570, member: 6679551"] As you point out, the system is no longer supported by WotC and most if not all of the books are out of print. Which means WotC isn't going to litigate over someone downloading a bunch of PDFs. At this point, it's unlikely WotC would make a dime off of someone buying the books, unless you bought the books directly from WotC, assuming you even can. WotC has far more to gain by people having free access to 3.5 stuff than they do by enforcing their copyright. It'll cost them tens of thousands of dollars to litgate someone for downloading a $10-15 book. At most they'll get statutory damages which is $750 at the low end, and that might not even cover the cost of a cease and desist letter at a major law firm. If WotC were even remotely concerned about protecting the copyright from PDF downloads, there wouldn't be half a dozen sites where someone can obtain this material. The only reason WotC would start to take notice is if you start [I]selling[/I] the books. WotC would love for hundreds of thousands of people to start playing 3.5 in the hopes that some of those people will eventually "upgrade" to 4e. People playing 3.5 means they might buy dice, they might buy maps, figurines, related novels, and other RPGs. Game stores benefit. It's easily the best of both worlds for WotC that that these books are available freely without them having to give up their copyright protection. If there is a group who might be motivated to act it would be the distributors. But most of them don't have any right to bring a suit and even if they did contractually, it still wouldn't be worth it. And since most of these books are written by a team, it is unlikely that any royalties are involved for the authors. Is it technically illegal to download copyprotected material? Yes. But it's technically illegale to speed. And speeding endangers people's lives...not their pocketbooks. Just to be 100% clear, I am not [I]advocating[/I] piracy or the infringment of anyone's rights. [/QUOTE]

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