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I am puzzled by MobileRead's policy regarding uploads to it Canadian or US server and "applicable law." Applicable to whom or what? To the uploader, the downloader, or the server?
I, in the US, have downloaded from PG Australia a couple of books that I know to be in copyright in the US. I don't believe--and I am not in the least a copyright scofflaw--that I have violated US copyright law by doing so, any more than I would by obtaining, for my private use, a copy of a printed book legally published in Australia.
In the case of the printed book, I believe I would be violating US copyright law if I made or obtained many copies of that book and, without permission of the copyright holder, republished or redistributed it.
Likewise, in the case of the ebook, I believe I would be violating US copyright law if I republished or redistributed it electronically, without permission, even--here is my point--if I did so by uploading it to a server located in country (let's say Canada) where that book was not in copyright. For surely, the applicable law is the law that applies to me, the performer of the act; the location of the server by itself is not determinative, or so I would think. If I were distributing a printed edition, could I circumvent US copyright law by routing all my copies through a Canadian depot?
If I'm right, it follows that MobileRead's policy is wrong, I think, and vice versa, of course. But I am just making inferences from my rudimentary, far from expert understanding of the legal issues, and I may be quite wrong. Can someone explain to me where I'm wrong?
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