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I love this article. I copied it out to my Reader a while ago (week or two? something like that) as an RTF (it doesn't need fancy formatting) and intend to keep it in there permanently. I suppose I've made an unauthorized copy and could be sued for $150,000, or whatever the current ridiculous amount is.
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If Ms. Loren is correct, you're safe. She writes:
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Now, if, over the course of any 180-day period, someone willfully infringes copyright by reproducing or distributing one or more copies of one or more works which have a retail value over $1000, they can be found criminally liable.
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(emphasis mine)
In other words, if this is an accurate representation of the law, you can make a number of copies and distribute them for free (this paragraph doesn't address the profit aspect, but it's there elsewhere in the law) as long as the retail value of those copies is less than $1000 over a six-month period. In other words (using my own
Risen as an example) you could legally make copies for 200 of your closest friends twice a year forever. You probably wouldn't run afoul of the law unless you posted it as a bit torrent, and you'd still probably be in the clear if fewer than 200 people every six months downloaded it.
That's
if she's correct and
if I've interpreted the paragraph correctly.