Quote:
Originally Posted by Redcard
And whilst we get into technically illegal.. it's worth noting that Kovid's wonderful libprs500 likely is illegal in the US.. and that his inclusion of "News" also violates the same "anti-derivative formats" that fanfiction violates.
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Actually, format shifting of content that is otherwise legally acquired is generally considered to fall under legitimate "fair use" in the US, and thus would not be illegal. And libprs500 does not itself violate the DMCA, so it's not a problem there either.
None of this is explicit in the law, nor has it been tested in court -- that's the big problem with relying on "fair use." If you are really concerned about legality or possible legal consequences, get written advice of counsel on the subject. This will probably involve paying a lawyer*. It'll also reduce the likelihood of punitive damages should you ever find yourself in court.
Meanwhile, the position stated by Harryt is the only one that Mobileread-the-web-site can reasonably take.
Xenophon
*I got written advice of counsel via a small graduate seminar that explored these issues. One of the speakers was an eminent lawyer who specializes in IP and copyright issues; he kindly provided written advice of counsel to all the students spelling out his considered opinion on what is likely to be legal. I am not a lawyer, so you can't place legal reliance on what
I wrote above. But if you can get a licensed lawyer to put himself on record, you can at least establish that no punitive damages are in order. It's not a guarantee, but the fact that you took the trouble to get and follow an expert opinion on the law goes a long way in establishing intent -- thus you'd probably get off with actual damages only. But not certainly.