Do I have anything to worry about, legally speaking, to take a .pdf copy (purchased) of the Core Books and manipulate it to fit smoothly on a Palm or Blackberry? I.E. chunking it into sections or copying and pasting the rules out without the art? Or even changing it from a .pdf to a .doc?
I have no intent to distribute it, but I was actually curious if I am allowed to create such a document.
With the old SRD, I just kept a copy of it on my Palm... no worries.
Mine gets grumpy trying to open large .pdfs... to say the least.
And let me throw in a humorous little link as a reward for those of you reading this.
http://humorix.org/articles/2002/02/book-copying/
This isn't really covered under the GSL... but it more or less goes somewhere around here.
Do I have anything to worry about, legally speaking, to take a .pdf copy (purchased) of the Core Books and manipulate it to fit smoothly on a Palm or Blackberry? I.E. chunking it into sections or copying and pasting the rules out without the art? Or even changing it from a .pdf to a .doc?
I have no intent to distribute it, but I was actually curious if I am allowed to create such a document.
With the old SRD, I just kept a copy of it on my Palm... no worries.
Mine gets grumpy trying to open large .pdfs... to say the least.
And let me throw in a humorous little link as a reward for those of you reading this.
http://humorix.org/articles/2002/02/book-copying/
Is there legal rammifications: Yes if WotC/Hasbro knew about it it would be a violation of their IP however this is like making copies of MLB games on TV it is against the law, but enforcement of that law is hard to pull off. You legally bought it, so you have the PDF, manipulating it is easily done. Unless Hasbro/WotC sends spies out to find out if EVERYONE who bought their PDF's are using them in a legal way, its unlikely to be found out and/or prosecuted.
This isn't really covered under the GSL... but it more or less goes somewhere around here.
Do I have anything to worry about, legally speaking, to take a .pdf copy (purchased) of the Core Books and manipulate it to fit smoothly on a Palm or Blackberry? I.E. chunking it into sections or copying and pasting the rules out without the art? Or even changing it from a .pdf to a .doc?
I have no intent to distribute it, but I was actually curious if I am allowed to create such a document.
With the old SRD, I just kept a copy of it on my Palm... no worries.
Mine gets grumpy trying to open large .pdfs... to say the least.
And let me throw in a humorous little link as a reward for those of you reading this.
http://humorix.org/articles/2002/02/book-copying/
If it's for your own personal use and have no intention of distributing the material, it would be less likely a legal concern for WotC.
You aren't going to distribute the file.
You're allowed to manipulate it for your own use however you want.
Ask yourself this: Is it illegal for you to print out the PDF for your personal use? Is it illegal for you to print out only certain pages of the PDF for your personal use? Is it illegal to select a certain bit of text from the PDF, and print only that?
Is it illegal to make a backup copy of your PDF?
Further, is it illegal for you to take your hardcopy core book, cut all the pages from the binding, cut the sections and re-arrange them in a different order, then paste them all together and re-bind the pages?
No, to all of them.
"Rights Management" these days is far too heavy handed, in a mis-managed attempt at preventing infringement.
Use the file for your personal use however you see fit, and don't distribute copyrighted material, and you're fine.
In Canada at least, you are allowed to have one digital backup copy (of anything, not just a regularly digital file) for every device you own - no licensing required. You could do this even if you have a self-scanned PDF or one obtained from a source other than an officially purchased PDF, as long as you legally own the original.
But can you have a backup copy of a backup?
Not sure what the legal definition of 'backup' is... and I believe technically, the law just says that you can have one copy per device you own, not that the copy has to actually be ON that device
Okay, by device are talking hardware platform like a VCR or a software like a videocassette?
If the former, can you have 3 backup copies if you have three VCRs?
Go back to my previous question: Can I have a backup copy of a backup copy of a backup copy of a backup copy of an original?
(Yeah, I'm being silly.)
BTW, how do you make a backup copy of your original PC game disk (usually a setup/install disk)?
It specifies 'digital hardware,' so if you've got three computers and an iPod, you can have four copies.
Do all of the hardware have to be working?
In Canada at least, you are allowed to have one digital backup copy (of anything, not just a regularly digital file) for every device you own - no licensing required. You could do this even if you have a self-scanned PDF or one obtained from a source other than an officially purchased PDF, as long as you legally own the original.
Canada allows formatting switching. Which allows you to change a hard copy compact disc to a soft copy mp3.
So technically you could copy a paper book into a pdf. And, likewise, you could manipulate said pdf for personal use. For example, formatting for size or adding bookmarks or adding the errata into the text.
Of course, Canada's laws are tad loose and currently allow the copying of borrowed or lent material (you can make an mp3 of a CD from a library) so, again, technically you could download the same material as long as you did not upload a single byte to another computer.
But that academic because you want to support WotC by buying their products.
I'm rustier on US copyright/IP laws. You might argue that adjusting or making a pdf of something you purchased is part of fair use laws. But if you purchased the pdf from another sie you might want to check the EULA you likely signed to see if it says anything about modification of any kind. Because that's a licenced agreement you signed, which might have restrictions on what you agreed to do (and not do) with the file.