Quote:
Originally Posted by lybrary
Here is one thought I am contemplating but I haven't found a good and workable solution for it: It has been stated here that if you buy a book you are free to prepare your own digital version of it. I agree with that interpretation of the copyright law. The next question is what if my friend bought the same book. Can I give him my digital copy of it (remember he has bought the same printed book)? Again my interpretation is yes because my friend has bought the same book and I can certainly share my own work of digitization with him. I couldn't do so with somebody who has not bought the book because that would be in clear violation in copyright law. Does anybody have an opinion on this legal question?
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Not a lawyer. Copyfight fanatic.
Opinion: Copyright law is psychotic and takes no notice of common sense and reasonable prevention of unnecessary effort.
"Fair use" is not actually defined. It is described as having allowances for educational purposes, and parody, and
de minimis use (except in music), and is acknowledged to cover other uses which have been checked against the
four factors. There is no equation to use to decide if a particular use is, or is not, acceptable.
The practical side of things: If you scan & convert a book for your friend, nobody knows, and nobody cares. If you start a book club with converted versions of the Harry Potter books for "everyone who can prove ownership of the physical copy," which sounds like a very reasonable (which does not mean "legal") format-shifting option, you can bet you'll be facing a lawsuit as fast as Warner Brothers can draft the C&D order.
Will it be successful?
Pointless question. The real question is:
How much time, money & lawyer resources do you have to spend on this?