Quote:
Originally Posted by vaughnmr
I'm curious, because I really don't know. What IS the copyright time length in the US now (I understand it keeps changing)? Also, what "fair use" rights do we have? If I buy an ebook, can I use it on any reader I have? Can I make a backup copy? What if the agency cartel pulls support of Amazon, do I still have a right to that book I bought?
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Life of the author + 70 years, registration not required, the clock starts when the work is placed in a fixed medium.
Fair use is whatever the courts decide, fair use is considered a defense in an infringement lawsuit but doesn't prevent the lawsuit. Generally it means you can distribute for educational use, news reporting (this tends to mean quotes and film clips), parody, critique. Backups and format shifting are generally considered okay unless you're in some for of publishing buisness in which case it makes you a thief in their eyes, ditto for selling your only copy of something, that part is called the first sale doctrine and came about because book publishers considered people selling at a discount or used to be pirates. You may do none of these things legally however if any sort of copy protection is used because breaking copy protection in the us is a criinal act even if the result is something you could have legally done without the copy protection
Only if it doesn't have any form of drm as cracking that is illegal, see above.
Same answer.
Probably but you may not be able to redownload it if the copy you have is lost. At least not legally.
Citations available on request.