Something like Harry Potter. and if so, where?
2007-03-04 20:36:30 · 9 answers · asked by Chustar Of Naija 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
What!?! The guy is asking if Downloading if legal and you're saying that if it's free, it's legal?!? Quite the opposite actually, if it's free, there's a good chance it's illegal. As a writer i would hate if people were getting the thing i poured my heart, soul, mind and sweat into for free. Wouldn't you hate it if you had your belongings stolen? Doing this is basically the same thing
Do yourself, and the author a favor and buy the book, don't steal. Don't damage your morale.
2007-03-04 21:02:15 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Harry Potter novels can't be legally downloaded. Writers generally don't give their books away, although there are exceptions like Cory Doctorow (http://www.craphound.com) who offer their work straight off their websites, no strings attached.
If you're not sure whether something is legal or not, check if it's in the public domain. Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org) offers a mother lode of selections of classics where you can find anything from the Bible to Agatha Christie to Thomas Hardy.
Some other e-text sites:
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/
http://www.eserver.org
http://www.bartleby.com
The Internet Public Library also offers a load of free and legal e-text links at http://ipl.org/div/subject/browse/hum60.60.00/
2007-03-05 01:21:05 · answer #2 · answered by tigertrot1986 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Harry Potter, no. Mark Twain, yes.
There are a few living authors who, caught up in the open source movement, actually allow their work to be downloaded for free (but all the good ones I know do non-fiction).
But most authors who haven't been dead long enough are not free legally (and some may be legal to download in one country but not another). Go to the guttenburg project's website for the ones that are legal to download in the USA.
2007-03-04 23:01:06 · answer #3 · answered by dude 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Depends if it's copyrighted. There are web sites which allow you to download public domain (non-copyrighted) literature free and legally but public domain stuff tends to be old. If you are downloading Harry Potter for free you can be sure it's not legal.
2007-03-04 21:17:26 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Is tucking a book in your jacket and walking out of the store with it without getting caught legal? The book was free, but it's stealing, unless it was offered for free by the copyright owner.
2007-03-06 02:53:32 · answer #5 · answered by §Sally§ 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. Unless the book in question is in the public domain (Meaning the copyright has expired). Copyrighted material represents a person's intellectual property, and stealing it is the same as stealing someone's car or wallet.
If you enjoy an author's work, support them by buying legal copies. You want to be paid for you work, and so do writers.
2007-03-05 07:29:56 · answer #6 · answered by bardsandsages 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Harry Potter isn't "Free." If something is truly "Free," then sure, you may download it. But nobody on the web allows for free downloads.
2007-03-04 20:47:09 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
You can find books and movies, not just music on P2P like FrostWire or LimeWire or MP3Rocket
2007-03-04 20:46:35 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
If it's free...then it should be OK.
2007-03-04 20:47:45 · answer #9 · answered by Afi 7 · 0⤊ 4⤋