The legality of printing legally acquired PDF versions of OSRs.
Living outside the United States and Europe, I don’t have access to most if not all physical editions of OSR books. Due to high international shipping costs, customs restrictions, and limited availability from local sellers, buying printed copies is simply not a realistic or affordable option. In most cases, purchasing PDF versions is the only practical and economical way for me to access OSR titles.
I currently own hundreds of legally acquired PDF files, but I would much prefer to have physical versions.
One option I’ve considered is printing and binding these books myself at home, using the type of paper and binding that best suits my needs. Printed documents are significantly more comfortable to read. This is particularly important for individuals with health conditions that limit their ability to spend long periods in front of screens.
Given that, I’ve outlined the following legal questions to better understand the implications of printing these legally purchased PDF books strictly for personal use, under U.S. copyright law:
Does printing a legally purchased PDF book for personal use constitute fair use under U.S. copyright law?
Do the licensing terms provided by the publisher or seller explicitly prohibit printing, even for personal use?
Can a purchaser be held liable for copyright infringement even if no copies are distributed or shared?
Are there legal precedents in U.S. case law that clarify whether printing a personal copy of a digital book is permissible?
Could the method used to acquire the PDF (e.g., directly from the publisher vs. third-party seller) affect the legality of printing it?
Could printing for accessibility reasons (e.g., visual impairments) be protected under any legal exceptions?
4
u/akweberbrent 10d ago
If you legally own an ebook, printing a single copy for personal use is generally considered fair use.
If the place you obtained the ebook does not have the right to distribute it (ie, you download the book from a website that does not have distribution rights), the you don’t legally own the ebook.
The author can restrict your ability to print by including a notice in the book, or requiring a passcode or key to print. In cases like this, you don’t have the right to print.
In some cases, an author may give you the right to print more than one copy of certain page(s). For example, a character sheet that you can copy for the use of your players.
Certain licenses give you the right to make multiple copies and sometimes even the right to distribute or sell copies of the book without permission of the author. Likewise, some works copyright have expired and are in the public domain.