Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
...
If you wanted to play target/guinea pig, you could:
1) Download 500 European-not-USan public domain ebooks,
2) Burn the whole set to a hundred CDs,
3) Bring CDs back to the US,
4) Sell CD's for $5 each,
5) Wait for lawsuit.
...
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In Australia, this would be fine - the commercial importation of copyright protected ebooks is perfectly legal under s44F of the Copyright Act 1968. However, the parallel importation of physical books is generally prohibited.
The Attorney General's Department website (
http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf...ightinfringed?) states:
Importation of Computer Programs and e-Books and e-Journals
The commercial importation of legitimate copies of computer software or electronic books (including collections of works), electronic journals and electronic sheet music into Australia without the permission of the Australian copyright owner is generally not an infringement of copyright. The imported copy must have been made with the permission of the copyright owner in the country of manufacture ... Note that downloading of copyright materials by computer from an overseas Internet site, which does not involve bringing of a physical item or medium into Australia, is not parallel importation. Downloading is an exercise of the reproduction or copying right of the owner of copyright in the materials concerned.
While it's legally permissible, it's hard to imagine circumstances in which it would be commercially viable.
JL