Publishing A PDF Purchased Elsewhere Online?

[Jason Kemp]

Good Morning, Lulu!

In a recent discussion over at ENWorld.org, I found out that there are people that believe that they can purchase a PDF of a role-playing product from a PDF distributor such as RPGNow.com, and then use Lulu to publish a printed copy of that material through a private publication that is not released publicly.

In these cases, the individuals do not own the copyright to the PDF products they publish, but the PDF will often contain text that allows the user to print a single hard copy for their own personal use. The individuals that use Lulu in this manner tend to point to that permission, and state that they are simply using Lulu as the printer of choice to obtain that hard copy, instead of printing it at home or via Kinko's or a similar printing establishment.

I had originally thought that such was not permissible, and I even found two links to support my position:
http://www.lulu.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=40914 (June 12th, 2006)
http://www.lulu.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=34135&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=20 (third and second posts from the bottom, July 14th, 2006)

However, one of the posters claimed that there had been recent discussions on the Lulu forums that this activity was now permissable, so long as the published work was not made public, no one attempted to make a profit from the deal, and that the purchased PDF was erased after publication, so that it could not be accidentally used by another to publish additional copies of the purchased PDF.

Is that true? Has Lulu's stance changed on this matter?

I intend to reference this thread to the ENWorld discussion, and so I hope that I receive some kind of official reply. I don't mind being wrong in this matter, but since I can't find the thread(s) that the other poster has mentioned, I do not think that I am wrong here. Either way, I think having a statement in black and white on this issue both here and maybe in the Lulu FAQ would be very helpful in such discussions, as there are proponents on both sides of the matter.

Thanks In Advance For Your Time,
Jason "Flynn" Kemp

[Elmore Hammes]

It is not permitted to publish an item on the Lulu site that you do not have explicit publishing rights and permission.

That is explicitly stated in our membership agreement ( http://www.lulu.com/about/member_agreement.php )

[Jason Kemp]

[Elmore Hammes]

That is correct.

Having the right to print out a hard copy for yourself is NOT the same as publishing rights, and Lulu could not be used to do that.

[UVSAR]

To explain what Elmore's saying more clearly:-

When you buy a PDF and print it yourself, there is only ever one copy of the PDF file on your computer. The paper copy is authorized, but the copyright on the PDF itself won't allow you to make multiple copies of the electronic file. By home printing, you're OK as you never send the files to anyone else.

If you send the file to Lulu for printing, then you have made two copies. The fact one may be 'temporary' is irrelevant in US copyright law. The printed product Lulu manufactures is also illegal, as it is YOU who has permission to make the printout, not Lulu or their print company. Even if you buy your own project, both Lulu and the printer make a profit and so every sale on Lulu is a commercial use, even if the author buys their own material. To complicate matters even more, you can never delete the PDF file from Lulu's computers once a print order has been created.


So the permission to 'home print' may seem to be relevant, but it's not. You need to have specific permission to do the following things (which are not actually 'permission to publish' - that concept doesn't exist in law):-

1) Permission to duplicate the source files and transfer a copy of said files permanently to several unnamed third parties (as Lulu makes several duplicates for printers, etc.).

2) Permission for a third party (not you) to manufacture a copy of the work for commercial gain (that's Lulu's gain, not necessarily yours).