Quote:
Originally Posted by ManosHandsOfFate
So then perhaps using the Darknet to grab a copy of a book you already have isn't illegal?
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I Am Not A Lawyer... (but I have attended a semester-long graduate seminar on IP issues for Computer Scientists). Armed with the combination of my class notes and my layman's misinterpretations of the law, I offer the following analysis (of US law; other countries differ):
- Format-shifting a legitimately-acquired work is virtually certain to be legal -- assuming that you do the format-shifting yourself, don't need to break or remove any DRM, and hold onto the original copy.
- Downloading a "pirate" copy of a legitimately-acquired work (to avoid the effort of format-shifting) is virtually certain to be illegal. Note, however, that your offence (as the downloader) is significantly less than that of the UPloader. This is what the earlier post is asking about.
- Sharing your legitimately-acquired work with 50,000 of your closest friends is certainly illegal -- it's a clear violation of copyright. Unless, of course, you are specifically authorized to do so by the copyright holder (in which case, you are probably a publisher or eBook retailer, or...).
- Stripping DRM from legitimately-acquired works for personal use only may or may not be legal; experts differ, and no court has yet ruled. The DMCA (which appears to be the controlling law for this question) contains contradictory statements, so we need the courts to sort it out. Some experts opine that this is clearly fair-use and is permitted; others argue that it's clearly a felony.
As I mentioned above, I am not a lawyer, so you should not rely on this advice for legal purposes. If you need an opinion on which you can place reliance, go pay for a real lawyer who specializes in this area; it won't be cheap.
Xenophon