Is It Legal To Share Pdf As Book Copies Of Copyrighted Novels?

I want to make sure any PDFs I add to my collection are copyright compliant. I check where I got the PDF from. Reputable sites to download PDFs from are Project Gutenberg, Open Library and an author’s own website. On these sites you will find PDFs of works in the public domain and where the copyright holder has given permission for the work to be made available for download. Sites other than these (even if free to download) are generally best avoided. A second way to confirm PDF copyright compliance is to check for a copyright page or for a disclaimer within the body of the PDF that explains the terms and conditions of use of the PDF. This could be a watermark on the review copy that you have downloaded. Crosschecking the book's status on well known online stores such as Amazon.com or Google Books helps me to determine if the same book is being sold as a copyrighted work. I only download a PDF version of a book that I intend to read if it is available for sale through such stores, and I purchase or borrow a legal copy where possible. When dealing with older books, it is important to confirm whether or not the book is in the public domain. In the U.S. this typically means books published prior to 1928. I use the Copyright Office’s database as well as the HathiTrust to help confirm a book’s public domain status. If I’m unsure about a particular book then it’s best to err on the side of caution and avoid downloading the PDF. I also make sure to pay attention to the terms of Creative Commons licenses, such as CC BY-NC, which allow for non-commercial use and distribution but require that the creator be given proper credit for their work. By being mindful of these details, I’m able to ensure that my PDF collection is both legal and ethical.

Looking for a legal PDF version of a bestseller? Try purchasing it from Google Play Books or from online eBook retailer Rakuten Kobo. Many authors and publishers also now sell eBooks direct from their own websites. Find out if your local library stocks eBooks on services such as OverDrive and Libby and borrow with your library card number. Avoid sketchy free PDF sites that may contain pirated copies of books – buy from reputable retailers and support the author.

My last thought for the day concerns discoverability vs. deprivation. I do think that piracy often serves as a discovery model for authors – allowing readers to ‘try before they buy’. However, very quickly it can devolve into depravation – people consuming media without ever contributing to the author’s earnings in any way. This ‘discovery’ model needs to transition into ‘supporting this author’. So you used that free PDF to ‘try’ an author – great! Now support them if you like their work. Buy their next book, pre-order it, get it from the library (since they paid the license for you), spread the word online… discover an author via the free sample, then become a paying reader for subsequent work by that author. That’s a sustainable relationship for the stories you love.

I get free legal thrillers from BookBub – many free books are offered on a daily basis. Occasionally a publisher such as Tor will make an eBook free to download for a period of time. Open Library at Archive.org is also a good source of free eBooks – you create an account and then borrow books. This is all to be done within the bounds of the authorized distribution of the copyrighted work.

We should make it normal to ask for books as gifts. Put that on your birthday list, your holiday list. Make it known that you would much rather have an ebook gift card than physical items. People want to give you things but have no idea what to get. Telling them that there’s a specific book you’d like to read makes it easy for them. You get to read the book for free, they get to give you something, and the author gets paid for the book. It’s a win for everyone.

It's a case by case thing, and really depends on the legal status of the original work. Works in the public domain can generally be adapted for commercial purposes by anyone. Works that are freely available under certain licenses (such as Creative Commons BY licenses) can also be adapted for commercial purposes by anyone. But works available under licenses such as NC can not be adapted for commercial purposes. Monetizing would include selling annotated copies of the novel, illustrated editions of the novel, making an audiobook of the novel, making a film or video game of the novel, selling novel-related merchandise, etc. Even a free e-book could be monetized by crowdfounding a polished-up version of the work. If the work is not in the public domain, then the safest route would be to get a written license that spells out exactly what commercial uses of the work are allowed, and I’d try to find those lines in any license before putting too much time and money into adapting the work. It’s a work that I’d like to make into a really deluxe collector’s edition some day, assuming all the rights are clean.

The key issue here is to recognize that fans write fanfiction because they love the work and want to connect with others who also love it. This goodwill can be your best defense against a corporation attacking your fanworks. Fans are a very vocal group, and many have seen how companies like J.K. Rowling and Scholastic lost the “Harry Potter” fan site wars years ago. Today, the vast majority of corporations have social media teams, and they know that fan engagement is a huge asset. When it comes to legally publishing your fanfiction, all this means is that you have to publish in a way that supports the community and does not earn you any money. This is all part of an unwritten social contract that has so far worked far better than any written contract.

Many years ago I tried to get a quote cleared for a relatively obscure 1970s sci-fi novel. The publisher had changed hands twice since its initial publication and the author's estate was being administered by the author's nephew in a far flung country. After three months of emailing and sending faxes I finally received permission for use for a $200 fee. Alas, the advance was only marginally more than this. The process of clearing a single quote to reproduce less than a page of work taught me a very valuable lesson. The administrative burden is in itself a filter. Only the most determined, well-funded and connected writers will be able to see their work published. This is somewhat depressing when considering the topic of intertextuality and the dialogical relationship between works. The system as it currently stands favors certain voices over others. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, just that there are certain practical byways which currently shape what gets published.

Not sure what the answer to this one is… I just got my first iPad and I am trying to move all of my Kindle stuff to it. Hmm, I guess that won’t work from reading all of the previous comments. Too bad.

Wait a minute. So work in the public domain can contain be derogatory to minorities or other groups today. Then as a translator you have to decide whether to translate these parts faithfully or to adapt/modernize them. This is an enormous ethical and artistic problem that goes far beyond the legal. You have the right to translate this work because it is in the public domain, but you have no guidance on how to handle its problematic parts. That will be your problem.