Is it legal to copy several books, bind them, and resell them?

Question

My professor has copied several different books and had them re-bound to form a larger book. He's charging $60 for it. It's not being sold through the campus bookstore, so he's getting all the money. I don't think this is legal. Does anyone know the legality of this practice and what I can do about it?

Answer 1

Depends on the books, if they are older ones, they may be considered public domain, such as Frankenstein, Dracula, Shakespeare, ect...

If it's less then 50 years old, it's probably not public domain.

Answer 2

Honestly this is why some people go to jail and pay fines.  This my friend is called copyright infringement.  He should be ashamed of himself and the fact that he is doing this on campus is even More repulsive.  I would definitely report this person to the school board na d see what they think about this!  I hope this helps you.

Answer 3

no its illegal.  he needs permission to do that.  

Answer 4

No its illegal to do this

I would be reporting this professor in a heart beat

Answer 5

sounds illegal to me

Answer 6

It's definitely illegal.

He's probably just trying to save you money (I'm sure each textbook could be $200-300 on its own).  Depending on how many pages there are he could be making a large chunk of change.  Most places charge 5 cents per sheet (b&w) and up to $5 for binding.

If it bothers you so much you want to get him into trouble, contact the publishers.

Our profs photocopy excerpts, compile them, and make them available in the library for us.  To my knowledge that is perfectly legal, because at most it is 20 pages out of each book.  

Anyways we often go copy those on our own dime.

Answer 7

Well, it was a good question until the courts ruled that it is definitely illegal, in the Kinko's case, where Kinko was asked to copy sections of books for professors.  Not only is the professor liable for criminal copyright infringement (for profit), any copy center that assists him is also liable as a "contributory infringer".  

Only the publisher/author who is the copyright owner has the right to sue for damages, but any U.S. Attorney has jurisdiction to prosecute a federal crime.  

Answer 8

I think it's illegal

Answer 9

It's called COPYRIGHT for a reason lol

You could let the campus know what hes doing..if its really bothering you :) Just make sure its an "ANONYMOUS" tip..you don't wanna be known as a tattle tale lol.

Answer 10

If he has permission from the authors to do this, then its legal. If he has a license, its legal. If he's only copying parts of the books, its probably legal.

Or its all a bunch of copyright violations and might land him in boiling hot water. Every case is fact specific. Ask a lawyer.

Answer 11

if you know for a fact that hes getting the cash. is it required to purchase it? no matter what that's plagiarism...

Answer 12

Its copyright and you are right- its illegal. If he is a professor, I would speak to another professor and make them aware of what he is doing, they will take it up with him.  

Answer 13

No can do without the publishers written permission. Inform the original publisher. I should think that your university would also have something to say on the matter of the money. Campus bookstores are part of the university and under its jurisdiction. I would suspect that is also illegal.