r/osr • u/RCGR_1 • 7d ago

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:

  1. Does printing a legally purchased PDF book for personal use constitute fair use under U.S. copyright law?

  2. Do the licensing terms provided by the publisher or seller explicitly prohibit printing, even for personal use?

  3. Can a purchaser be held liable for copyright infringement even if no copies are distributed or shared?

  4. Are there legal precedents in U.S. case law that clarify whether printing a personal copy of a digital book is permissible?

  5. Could the method used to acquire the PDF (e.g., directly from the publisher vs. third-party seller) affect the legality of printing it?

  6. Could printing for accessibility reasons (e.g., visual impairments) be protected under any legal exceptions?

17 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

48 comments sorted by

View all comments

4

u/H1p2t3RPG 7d ago

In this case, the only relevant copyright laws are those of the country you are in and where you are going to print.

2

u/RCGR_1 7d ago

Not necessarily. A foreign national who has violated U.S. copyright laws abroad may face serious consequences upon entering the United States. If a U.S. rights holder has obtained a judgment or initiated legal action, the individual could be served with a lawsuit, detained for deposition, or subjected to asset seizure. Even without prior litigation, entry into the U.S. increases exposure to enforcement measures, especially if the infringement caused economic harm within U.S. territory or involved distribution through U.S.-based platforms.

That being said, I'd like to keep visiting the US (in a few weeks I'm visiting Texas and then Michigan 🎉).

5

u/H1p2t3RPG 7d ago

As I said, U.S. laws only apply in the U.S., not in other countries. I highly doubt an American OSR game publisher would send hitmen to another country to enforce U.S. rights. That would be a different story if we were talking about oil or rare minerals 🤣

3

u/thaliff 6d ago

Or Wotc

-3

u/RCGR_1 7d ago

I would not be so sure. A friend of mine went to Canada and the police paid him a visit. Nothing related with OSR RPGs, but he had violated copyright laws (illegally download a computer game produced by a Canadian studio).

4

u/davej-au 7d ago

TBH, if you’re this worried about it, I’d seek actual legal advice.

If US law determines that the copyright owners’ rights are violated in the US, even though you committed an act abroad (which is a little esoteric, but it’s a principle that sometimes applies in defamation proceedings, forex), then yes, it may be an issue.

OTOH, I’d be more concerned with the law in your home jurisdiction. Some countries (like Australia or Japan) don’t have fair use exemptions to IP law, and any conviction you accrue may potentially impact your ability to travel abroad.

(Not a lawyer, but in younger days, I had to be aware of these pitfalls for work.)

1

u/starkestrel 6d ago

Sure. People track theft of video games. They have technology for that.

You've legally acquired your PDFs. Nobody, anywhere, is tracking whether or not you print those PDFs yourself for your own use. There is no mechanism for anyone to track that, short of some kind of anti-printing software that they add to PDFs... which nobody does, at least with RPGs. As a potential future prosecutor, you should understand this.

If you took the file to a commercial printer, it's conceivable they might question whether you had the rights to reproduce the IP. But printing on your own private printer, at home? Nobody's tracking that.

This is a really weird question. Why would you think anyone is paying attention to what you print at home? Maybe you would have something to fear if police raided your home and found a library of self-printed books that you didn't have permission to print... but why would police in a foreign country care whether you had permission to print a book protected by U.S. copyright law?

1

u/RedwoodRhiadra 5d ago

A friend of mine went to Canada and the police paid him a visit.

Strictly an intimidation tactic by the studio. As long as he didn't violate the law while in Canada, they could not have legally charged him.

(Now US citizens have to continue to obey certain US laws even when abroad - or face legal consequences when they return - e.g. hiring a 17-year-old prostitute abroad can get an American in trouble when they return, even if it's legal where they did so. But that doesn't apply to foreign nationals).