I am considering the purchase of (several copies of) a book for internal training purposes. The book contains the following message at the beginning:
Now obviously I do not intend to reproduce copies of this book in order to "replace or substitute for its repurchase" (or, indeed, for any other purpose). It is the issue of transfer/sharing that concerns me--particularly the bit at the beginning in caps.
So, my questions are:
1) Does this imprint--particularly the all-caps part--hold any legal weight? Can they legally restrict sharing or reusing by including such a warning?
2) What are the standards by which a text is deemed "consumable"? Does the simple declaration of the text as "consumable" carry legal weight? Nothing I have seen in this book is actually "consumable" in the conventional sense. It is, to all appearances, a textbook; there are some questions asked with some space left in which one might write an answer, but I haven't seen any activity (puzzle, chart/drawing, etc.) that must be completed in the book itself, and most of the pages contain only printed information, not spaces for student input.
3) In general, would the publisher have any legal case if I were to assemble a small library of these books and use them with multiple training groups, provided I use the originals and do not reproduce any material contained in the book?
(As a matter of interest, the bottom of this warning page contains the following text:
THIS WORKBOOK MAY NOT BE COPIED OR USED BY MORE THAN ONE STUDENT. RESALE IS ALSO PROHIBITED.
<Title deleted> is a consumable classroom workbook. It is not a textbook or reference work. Under copyright law, no consumable book can be photocopied to create, replace, or substitute for its repurchase regardless whether it is used in whole or with any of its parts. Please refer to U.S. Copyright Office, Circular21, page 11...<etc.>
<Title deleted> is a consumable classroom workbook. It is not a textbook or reference work. Under copyright law, no consumable book can be photocopied to create, replace, or substitute for its repurchase regardless whether it is used in whole or with any of its parts. Please refer to U.S. Copyright Office, Circular21, page 11...<etc.>
Now obviously I do not intend to reproduce copies of this book in order to "replace or substitute for its repurchase" (or, indeed, for any other purpose). It is the issue of transfer/sharing that concerns me--particularly the bit at the beginning in caps.
So, my questions are:
1) Does this imprint--particularly the all-caps part--hold any legal weight? Can they legally restrict sharing or reusing by including such a warning?
2) What are the standards by which a text is deemed "consumable"? Does the simple declaration of the text as "consumable" carry legal weight? Nothing I have seen in this book is actually "consumable" in the conventional sense. It is, to all appearances, a textbook; there are some questions asked with some space left in which one might write an answer, but I haven't seen any activity (puzzle, chart/drawing, etc.) that must be completed in the book itself, and most of the pages contain only printed information, not spaces for student input.
3) In general, would the publisher have any legal case if I were to assemble a small library of these books and use them with multiple training groups, provided I use the originals and do not reproduce any material contained in the book?
(As a matter of interest, the bottom of this warning page contains the following text:
We offer a reward for any referral of copyright infringements through the use of this workbook that result in litigation. Please contact using the information found below.
This suggests to me that they may be aggressively litigious...)
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