Printing of Non-DRM books for personal use

[greveg]

I've been searching the forums for a thread much like this one lately, and haven't had any luck. I know that this is predominantly an ebook forum, but recently I've been getting into bookbinding as a hobby and was checking into the legality of converting and printing my non-DRM books into signature format. Any thoughts??

[Harper Kingsley]

If you're talking about buying non-DRM'd ebooks and having them printed, even if it's just for yourself that's pretty illegal. You're basically making counterfeit books, so if one of those books happened to fall into someone else's hand or made it into a used bookstore or something, you could get in serious trouble. Plus there's a chance that whoever your printer is might turn you in.

[Ravensknight]

Originally Posted by Harper Kingsley

...that's pretty illegal.

And so was smuggling slaves to freedom to Canada back in the 1800's...

[pidgeon92]

Oh, for Pete's sake. I don't see anything illegal or immoral about this.

[odiakkoh]

Originally Posted by Ravensknight

And so was smuggling slaves to freedom to Canada back in the 1800's...

Printing an ebook is comparable to freeing human beings that were held against their will?

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by greveg

I've been searching the forums for a thread much like this one lately, and haven't had any luck. I know that this is predominantly an ebook forum, but recently I've been getting into bookbinding as a hobby and was checking into the legality of converting and printing my non-DRM books into signature format. Any thoughts??

It depends - it's not a matter of if the ebook is DRMed or not, it's a matter of if the book is still under copyright (that's what copyright means - the right to make copies).

Some ebooks actually come with print permissions - usually only a few pages, but some will let you print the entire thing.

The 1978 copyright law (I'm presuming you're in the US) defines fair use - although some of the wording is rather vague. Look here and click the link for more info.

Since you're asking about the legality and not the morality, a pointer to the actual law should be all the information you need.

Keep in mind that copyright infringement is not a crime (although there are people on this board who act as though it is) - it's a civil violation. That doesn't mean it's 'OK', but it does mean that the police won't come knocking at your door unless you're also distributing it. It's up to the copyright holder to defend his copyright in the civil courts, not the criminal courts.

So if you're only making one copy, for your own personal use, you're unlikely to get into trouble about it, even if you are violating the law.

But if you want to stay entirely inside the law, then you should only print out public domain works. Those are yours, to do with as you please.

Of course, you could always buy a paper copy and rebind it. That's entirely permissible.

[Ravensknight]

Originally Posted by odiakkoh

Printing an ebook is comparable to freeing human beings that were held against their will?

I was making the OBVIOUS [I thought, but I guess I thought wrong] point that because something is illegal doesn't mean it is immoral, or wrong.

But you are completely correct, I shouldn't have made an over the top comparison that anyone with any sense wouldn't seriously compare against each other.

I guess scientists need to look off-world for intelligent life, cause it sure isn't here!

[Fluribus]

Originally Posted by Ravensknight

I was making the OBVIOUS [I thought, but I guess I thought wrong] point that because something is illegal doesn't mean it is immoral, or wrong.

But you are completely correct, I shouldn't have made an over the top comparison that anyone with any sense wouldn't seriously compare against each other.

I guess scientists need to look off-world for intelligent life, cause it sure isn't here!

You suffer from three problems:

1) Some people do argue that copyright is a crime against humanity.

2) Your mug-shot clearly shows you to be a heretic.

3) You're not me.

The only solution that is readily available for you is to repent of your heresy. The other two problems are largely insurmountable.

[dreams]

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[Rob Lister]

Originally Posted by greveg

I've been searching the forums for a thread much like this one lately, and haven't had any luck. I know that this is predominantly an ebook forum, but recently I've been getting into bookbinding as a hobby and was checking into the legality of converting and printing my non-DRM books into signature format. Any thoughts??

Hi greveg. Welcome to the forums. See above posts concerning the technical legal issues with that aspect of your hobby, but there is a solution.

There are tens of thousands of books freely available in the public domain. These are books that are out of copyright. You could actually make a tidy business out of publishing new editions of these works in your signature format because the original paper versions of the books have been out of print for so long.

If you go to the Gutenberg Project, you'll find those tens of thousands waiting for you. They've already been transcribed from the original and converted into txt, html and ebook format. There are those who would pay real money to have some of these books reconverted to paper format. I can think of more than a few I'd like to have in my personal meat-space.

Drop me a PM.

[wallcraft]

I have a different take on this that most previous posters. In the US, it is "fair use" to take a printed book, scan it, and produce an ebook - provided it is for your own use only. I can't see any difference, for DRM-free ebooks, in reversing the process, converting the ebook to PDF (say), "printing" it on your personal printer and binding it into book form for your own use. Both of these are non-commercial media/format shifting, which is almost always fair use under pre-DMCA copyright law. DMCA might have changed this for DRMed ebooks, but even with DRM my own view is that personal use DRM stripping and media/format shifting is legal.

The issue is with "printing", which might imply multiple copies. If you make multiple copies, and in particular if you sell them, then this is not covered by fair use. As Rob Lister said, when multiple copies are involved start with books that are out of copyright.

[HarryT]

If you do this yourself, for your own personal use, then who's going to know other than you? I've never heard of anyone getting into trouble for format shifting, which is what this is.

[JoeD]

Originally Posted by HarryT

If you do this yourself, for your own personal use, then who's going to know other than you? I've never heard of anyone getting into trouble for format shifting, which is what this is.

In addition to what Harry said, it's eventually going to be legal to format shift from a CD to mp3 (UK) and many of us have no moral issues with format shifting from epub to mobi. Why would a format shift from digital to print or print to digital for your own personal use matter?

illegal, likely, but morally, fine imo.

If people consider it morally ok to scan a print book to digital form (which is similar to ripping cdrom to mp3). The reverse should be ok too.

Now if you pass that book on much like you pass the mp3 on, expect to be in trouble if caught.

All that said, when print books cost less than digital in many cases, may as well just buy new rather then print/bind. If it's the print/bind that interests you, just do so using public domain books. (not legal advice, but) afaik if it's in the public domain you could print/bind and sell it.