Quote:
Originally Posted by akiburis
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.
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Yes, you have violated US copyright law by doing so. You must only download books which are in the public domain where
you live. That is why every book in PG Australia says in it "Be sure to check the copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing this file."
Quote:
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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There are two laws applicable:
1. The law regarding where it's legal to host the file. The file has to be in the public domain (or covered by something like a CC license) in the physical location of the server. That's why MR has two servers - our main server is in Canada, and all the books on that server are in the public domain in Canada. We also have an FTP site in the USA which hosts the relatively small number of books which are in the public domain in the USA, but not in Canada.
2. The law relating to whether or not it's legal for a person to download a book. This depends solely on whether or not the book is out of copyright or not in the downloader's location. That's because once you've downloaded the book, a copy of it exists on your computer.
Hope that clarifies it for you.