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Originally Posted by Catlady
Yesterday I bought an e-book published by Penguin. The copyright page includes this notice:
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The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated.
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Noteworthy, I think, is the concentration on distribution; Penguin is not saying anything about the consumer making copies for personal use. |
Scanning, uploading and distribution *may or may not* be illegal, depending on the conditions under which it's done. Take the book to Afghanistan, and you can distribute to your heart's content: no copyright law. Buy book, download to laptop, fly to Afghanistan, burn copies to CDs and sell them for a dollar each: entirely legal.
Even in the US, multiple copies for classroom use is legal. Scanning a hardcover for personal use is, as far as any of us know, legal.
The copyright notice inside a book has no connection to what the law actually requires. (And I wish it were legally actionable, wish they were able to be indicted for fraud for claiming more rights than they actually have.)