Obelisk -- legal distribution of format-shifted copyrighted works

[kovidgoyal]

That's great. Maybe we should organize some infrastructure that allows us to generate the diff for a particular ebook version purchased from say, so and so URL and de-DRMed using so and so tool. The tool for applying the diff should check the md5sum of the source file to make sure it doesn't mess it up.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Nice! I don't see any issue. Because as you said without the source the diff file is useless. What if you've downloaded the PDF of Mistborn then you can get my LRF conversion over at http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...356#post156356

Well, people here have argued that format shifting were you did not do the work yourself was illegal/immoral or whatever so I a counting on them to repeat there arguments here and strongly object to this practise.

[NatCh]

Ah, but this is, effectively, just a tool to do the format shifting yourself.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by NatCh

Ah, but this is, effectively, just a tool to do the format shifting yourself.

And then we can make versions of MobileRead books that replaces emdash with - and curly quotes with straight quotes for people that prefer that...

[NatCh]

That's a good idea.

[llasram]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

That's great. Maybe we should organize some infrastructure that allows us to generate the diff for a particular ebook version purchased from say, so and so URL and de-DRMed using so and so tool. The tool for applying the diff should check the md5sum of the source file to make sure it doesn't mess it up.

Although I think most of us agree DRM-stripping for personal format-shifting is ethically reasonable, it’s certainly of questionable legality in the US and other nations with DMCA-like laws. Distribution of a file which is only usable in tandem with a deDRMed file would be implicit evidence of DRM-stripping on the part of both the distributor and the recipient. I think it would be nice to be able to do something like this, but I’m not sure how “safe” it would be.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by tompe

And then we can make versions of MobileRead books that replaces emdash with - and curly quotes with straight quotes for people that prefer that...

I think you need some serious

[kovidgoyal]

Originally Posted by llasram

Although I think most of us agree DRM-stripping for personal format-shifting is ethically reasonable, it’s certainly of questionable legality in the US and other nations with DMCA-like laws. Distribution of a file which is only usable in tandem with a deDRMed file would be implicit evidence of DRM-stripping on the part of both the distributor and the recipient. I think it would be nice to be able to do something like this, but I’m not sure how “safe” it would be.

True, I for one, wouldn't want to take the risk. But reading that post has me thinking of a lovely new notation:

de-DRM-ed

for liberated books

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by llasram

Although I think most of us agree DRM-stripping for personal format-shifting is ethically reasonable, it’s certainly of questionable legality in the US and other nations with DMCA-like laws.

It's not questionable at all in the UK; it's flat-out illegal at present, although that's likely to change in the near future.

[JSWolf]

Why was the thread that contained a perfectly legal diff file for Mistborn removed?

[Alexander Turcic]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Why was the thread that contained a perfectly legal diff file for Mistborn removed?

Which thread, Jon?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

Which thread, Jon?

I had made a thread that contianed a Python script for doing a diff and the diff file. It required people to have the original PDF in order to generate an LRF. The original PDF was not given out. Just the Python script and the diff file. I went to look it up to try to figure out how to use the Python script again and it no longer exists.