Someone explain this aspect of fair use to me.

[cheesehead]

There's a website charging $25 for a .pdf of a book, $45 for a hardcover book, and $60 for both.

My question is this: If I bought the rights to the book, don't I have the right to scan it so I can view it on my laptop? Similarly, would it be legal for me to have a digital copy of the book even if someone else had scanned it?

 

[Zim Hosein]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead
There's a website charging $25 for a .pdf of a book, $45 for a hardcover book, and $60 for both.

My question is this: If I bought the rights to the book, don't I have the right to scan it so I can view it on my laptop? Similarly, would it be legal for me to have a digital copy of the book even if someone else had scanned it?

What website Cheesehead?

 

[Newbian]

As long as you own the book it probably will be legal just like what they do with mp3's and roms but who knows.

 

[her209]

Why didn't you just buy the PDF and make print outs?

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: Zim Hosein

What website Cheesehead?

http://www.battlecorps.com/cat...9_204&products_id=2243

Originally posted by: her209
Why didn't you just buy the PDF and make print outs?

Because it would cost $120 to print in color and it looks like crap in B&W.

 

[Aluvus]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead

My question is this: If I bought the rights to the book, don't I have the right to scan it so I can view it on my laptop?

You can scan it for your own personal use, and would have no trouble claiming that this was "format shifting", which is a protected type of fair use.

Similarly, would it be legal for me to have a digital copy of the book even if someone else had scanned it?

Not sure, but doubtful. The rightsholder could argue that their digital copy is a distinct work with (potentially) different content. By analogy: purchasing a studio recording of a song does not give you the legal right to download a live version of the same song on a perr-to-peer network. They could also argue that the third party's scan of the book is a derivative work and therefore, while legal for personal use, not legal to distribute (to you) without permission.

There is a popular (but AFAIK untested) theory that possessing a copy of a game ROM for use with an emulator is legal so long as you own a legitimate copy of the game. That case is slightly different, because the ROM is a direct, unmodified reproduction of what is on the game cartridge.

Not a lawyer, etc.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: Aluvus

Originally posted by: Cheesehead

My question is this: If I bought the rights to the book, don't I have the right to scan it so I can view it on my laptop?

You can scan it for your own personal use, and would have no trouble claiming that this was "format shifting", which is a protected type of fair use.

Similarly, would it be legal for me to have a digital copy of the book even if someone else had scanned it?

Not sure, but doubtful. The rightsholder could argue that their digital copy is a distinct work with (potentially) different content. By analogy: purchasing a studio recording of a song does not give you the legal right to download a live version of the same song on a perr-to-peer network. They could also argue that the third party's scan of the book is a derivative work and therefore, while legal for personal use, not legal to distribute (to you) without permission.

There is a popular (but AFAIK untested) theory that possessing a copy of a game ROM for use with an emulator is legal so long as you own a legitimate copy of the game. That case is slightly different, because the ROM is a direct, unmodified reproduction of what is on the game cartridge.

Not a lawyer, etc.

Hmm, would this include downloading mp3's of music you have already purchased in a different format, such as vinyl LP or cassette tape?

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

Hmm, would this include downloading mp3's of music you have already purchased in a different format, such as vinyl LP or cassette tape?

The RIAA says no.

Quite a lot of law (and, of course, common sense) say yes.

If anyone asks, I'm claiming that I scanned my PDF myself.