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Old 04-10-2011, 06:15 AM   #15
HarryT
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jellby View Post
Would it be the same if she bought a paper copy of a public-domain book in Europe and sold it as a second-hand book in the US?

What is the difference between selling/buying a paper book legally acquired and imported, and a CD with ebooks legally acquired and imported?
Because with a CD you're making copies of the files; with a book you are not.

When you buy a digital file legally, you have an implicit licence to make copies as required for normal use of the product - eg, copying it in from the CD into the RAM of your computer in order to read it. With an illegally-acquired copy, no such implicit licence exists, hence the act of reading it will violate copyright law.

I don't actually know whether it would be legal for someone in one country to import paper copies of a book which is in the public domain (hence very cheap) in another country, but still under copyright protection in the reader's country. My gut feeling is that it's not legal. Obviously it's fine to visit that other country, buy it there, and then take it home with you, but that's a different situation.
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