Piracy or Not Piracy and Why

Tattncat · 08-09-2009, 09:22 AM

First question:
If you have a book in hand, that you own, can you legally obtain a digital copy of that book. Keep in mind that the books content's may or may not be from the Public domain.

Next question:
What is then, assuming that you can not legally do the above, what is the purpose of Scribd. Scribd not only sells books, it offers sundry other printed items some of which are books for download. Now, keep in mind that a good portion of that appears to be original content, which is fun to explore. However a lot of the content appears to be scans from other people's book collections, many of these appear to be of the 30-40 year old vintage (i.e. Old Harlequins) some of these books made available are current books that can be purchased on Sony, Fictionwise, etc. Under what circumstances can they be downloaded, legally.

Jack Tingle · 08-09-2009, 10:27 AM

Since copyright violation is a civil matter, you can take advantage of these books until the copyright owner asks you to stop or sues you for damages. I don't suggest you post any, since the poster is usually the one they sue. Information may want to be free, but IP owners wish to keep it bottled up.

Regards,
Jack Tingle

HarryT · 08-09-2009, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tattncat

What is then, assuming that you can not legally do the above, what is the purpose of Scribd. Scribd not only sells books, it offers sundry other printed items some of which are books for download. Now, keep in mind that a good portion of that appears to be original content, which is fun to explore. However a lot of the content appears to be scans from other people's book collections, many of these appear to be of the 30-40 year old vintage (i.e. Old Harlequins) some of these books made available are current books that can be purchased on Sony, Fictionwise, etc. Under what circumstances can they be downloaded, legally.

None, if they are in copyright in your country.

daffy4u · 08-09-2009, 11:52 AM

Might be a moot point now/soon. Scribd seems to be changing it's ways.

Tattncat · 08-09-2009, 12:04 PM

Since that is the case what is the purpose of Scribd and like sites.

HarryT · 08-09-2009, 12:05 PM

It has legitimate uses, although unfortunately it is also used for illicit purposes.

Kali Yuga · 08-09-2009, 12:52 PM

Ideally, the purpose of Scribd is to allow people to self-publish any e-book or text they want. Naturally, people use this for many legit purposes (e.g. publishing a book they wrote, or a public domain book) and others do not (e.g. violating copyrights).

Scribd now has a deal with Simon & Schuster, so they are trying to clean up their act.

Also, I don't know if you have a specific legal right to convert a paper book to an e-book form. However it's not really an issue unless you try to share and/or sell the digital copies you make.

Tattncat · 08-09-2009, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

Ideally, the purpose of Scribd is to allow people to self-publish any e-book or text they want. Naturally, people use this for many legit purposes (e.g. publishing a book they wrote, or a public domain book) and others do not (e.g. violating copyrights).

Scribd now has a deal with Simon & Schuster, so they are trying to clean up their act.

Also, I don't know if you have a specific legal right to convert a paper book to an e-book form. However it's not really an issue unless you try to share and/or sell the digital copies you make.

If I knew how, which at this time I don't;y sole purpose would be for my personal use. I don't even sell my old P-books. I donate them to the library.

derrell · 08-09-2009, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tattncat

If I knew how, which at this time I don't;y sole purpose would be for my personal use. I don't even sell my old P-books. I donate them to the library.

Do it yourself book digitizing.
Mobile Read Wiki

Book Ripper

I'm planning on trying the book ripper method myself on some of my older books.

fugazied · 08-09-2009, 09:09 PM

First questions: if it's not public domain, chances are you are breaching copyright laws by transferring it to an electronic medium. Most countries have fair use clauses so you may be able to copy a couple of pages for educational use. If it's public domain, copy away!!

slayda · 08-09-2009, 10:16 PM

I wonder, if you had a photographic memory, would you violate copyright by reading a book since you would be making a copy (into your memory) of the book?

Ervserver · 08-10-2009, 12:47 AM

yes and you are required to place your head on your router so Amazon can delete the book

Quote:

Originally Posted by slayda

I wonder, if you had a photographic memory, would you violate copyright by reading a book since you would be making a copy (into your memory) of the book?

Blue Tyson · 08-10-2009, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fugazied

First questions: if it's not public domain, chances are you are breaching copyright laws by transferring it to an electronic medium. Most countries have fair use clauses so you may be able to copy a couple of pages for educational use. If it's public domain, copy away!!

Not in Australia. So go crazy with format shifting.

Kali Yuga · 08-10-2009, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fugazied

First questions: if it's not public domain, chances are you are breaching copyright laws by transferring it to an electronic medium....

You may be right, but I'm not entirely sure this is correct. As far as I know, for example, it is completely legal to convert a CD (or vinyl record) into a compressed audio format for your personal use. It would be illegal to resell the song or to distribute it without authorization, though. I don't know if there is specific legislation anywhere targeting the digitization of books for personal use.

HarryT · 08-10-2009, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

You may be right, but I'm not entirely sure this is correct. As far as I know, for example, it is completely legal to convert a CD (or vinyl record) into a compressed audio format for your personal use.

Depends where you live. It's not legal to do that in the UK, technically speaking, even for a CD which you perfectly legitimately own, although nobody has ever been prosecuted for it. Just a case of the law not keeping up with the "real world".

08-09-2009, 09:22 AM	#1
Tattncat Bookworm Posts: 673 Karma: 1029391 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Device: Nook Tablet, Samsung Galaxy Tab3, Sony PRS700, Sony PRS505	Piracy or Not Piracy and Why First question: If you have a book in hand, that you own, can you legally obtain a digital copy of that book. Keep in mind that the books content's may or may not be from the Public domain. Next question: What is then, assuming that you can not legally do the above, what is the purpose of Scribd. Scribd not only sells books, it offers sundry other printed items some of which are books for download. Now, keep in mind that a good portion of that appears to be original content, which is fun to explore. However a lot of the content appears to be scans from other people's book collections, many of these appear to be of the 30-40 year old vintage (i.e. Old Harlequins) some of these books made available are current books that can be purchased on Sony, Fictionwise, etc. Under what circumstances can they be downloaded, legally.

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08-09-2009, 10:27 AM	#2
Jack Tingle Punctuation Fetishist Posts: 557 Karma: 1070000 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: The Bluest Commonwealth In East America Device: Kindle PW, Nexus 7 (2013), Galaxy S5 phone, Galaxy Tab 4 8.0	Since copyright violation is a civil matter, you can take advantage of these books until the copyright owner asks you to stop or sues you for damages. I don't suggest you post any, since the poster is usually the one they sue. Information may want to be free, but IP owners wish to keep it bottled up. Regards, Jack Tingle

08-09-2009, 11:52 AM	#4
daffy4u I'm Super Kindle-icious Posts: 6,734 Karma: 2434103 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Drive, Calinadia Candafornia Device: KDXG, KT, Oasis	Might be a moot point now/soon. Scribd seems to be changing it's ways.

08-09-2009, 12:04 PM	#5
Tattncat Bookworm Posts: 673 Karma: 1029391 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Device: Nook Tablet, Samsung Galaxy Tab3, Sony PRS700, Sony PRS505	Since that is the case what is the purpose of Scribd and like sites.

08-09-2009, 12:05 PM	#6
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,560 Karma: 93980341 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	It has legitimate uses, although unfortunately it is also used for illicit purposes.

08-09-2009, 12:52 PM	#7
Kali Yuga Professional Contrarian Posts: 2,045 Karma: 3289631 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 4 No Touchie	Ideally, the purpose of Scribd is to allow people to self-publish any e-book or text they want. Naturally, people use this for many legit purposes (e.g. publishing a book they wrote, or a public domain book) and others do not (e.g. violating copyrights). Scribd now has a deal with Simon & Schuster, so they are trying to clean up their act. Also, I don't know if you have a specific legal right to convert a paper book to an e-book form. However it's not really an issue unless you try to share and/or sell the digital copies you make.

08-09-2009, 09:09 PM	#10
fugazied Wizard Posts: 1,305 Karma: 1958 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: iPod Touch	First questions: if it's not public domain, chances are you are breaching copyright laws by transferring it to an electronic medium. Most countries have fair use clauses so you may be able to copy a couple of pages for educational use. If it's public domain, copy away!!

08-09-2009, 10:16 PM	#11
slayda Retired & reading more! Posts: 2,764 Karma: 1884247 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: North Alabama, USA Device: Kindle 1, iPad Air 2, iPhone 6S+, Kobo Aura One	I wonder, if you had a photographic memory, would you violate copyright by reading a book since you would be making a copy (into your memory) of the book?