Copyright

[Jeff0431]

Simple question, as we are all forced online will I be able to share a PDF with my players?
I love the game but have had issues finding players because not everyone can afford to buy all of the wonderful books.

 

[Simon]

While there's not much that can be done unless the sharing becomes widespread, I suspect the obvious statement is that no, you should not give copies of the PDFs to other people (be they players in your game or otherwise). 

[Christopher R Taylor]

It is a copyright violation to copy off someone's work and give it away to someone else.

[eepjr24]

As an alternative to buying all the books, your players might consider picking up the Basic book. most will not need a lot more to start and you can guide them and assist when they need other things.

 

 

 

[eepjr24]

Also note (and this will need to be reviewed by the copyright owners) that there are some exceptions to the copyright rule. Obtaining permission for a specific purpose is one exception to consider and fair use is another. The first is your best bet, obviously. In the second case you may want to check with legal counsel, but there are cases where sharing a pdf (via showing pages in a meeting, not by transferring a copy electronically to another party) in a teaching setting could fall under fair use. Personally, I find the prices for Hero products imminently fair given the amount of work that went into creating them, so a better strategy is probably to locate used copies of the physical books online for purchase as people get the money.

 

Some examples:

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31038754344&searchurl=n%3D100121503%26xpod%3Doff%26bi%3D0%26ds%3D30%26bx%3Doff%26sortby%3D17%26an%3Dsteve%2Blong%26recentlyadded%3Dall&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-image26

Amazon, hit the "used" tab and find books for under $10.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583660135/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A27IT4UE6O8KWA&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Gadgets-Gear-Champions-Steve-Long/dp/1583660313/ref=sr_1_19?crid=JU8EGWPI3K8H&keywords="steve+long"&qid=1646594403&s=books&sprefix=steve+long+%2Cstripbooks%2C86&sr=1-19

 

- E