Legality Question

[Sherlock]

I bought some mentalism books from a friend of mine, Bob Cassidy's fundamentals in a digital copy. Well, it took roughly six hours to download all of this but apparently he sent wayyy more material than I thought. All of Banachek's released material, lots of Bob Cassidy, Kenton Knepper, Derren Brown, Osterlind, Lee Earle, and much much more.

I have only looked at what I paid for, however the rest was apparently just a gift from my buddy. However it's obvious this is illegally downloaded and was wondering what I should do with it. Obvious answer is to get rid of what I didn't pay for but I was wondering about any discussion on this subject.

 

[Cedric Taylor]

i understand about being a honest person, but seriously thats on his behalf, don't be an idiot, not calling u one by any stretch, just don't be that much of a samaritan, its like receiving the too much change. although giving it back is the right thing to do. but you can keep it, i doubt anyone would fault you for that.

if you want to be sure about everything let him know that he sent too much and if he's ok with it. then fine its a gift. (this is actually the righteous thing to do)

i wouldn't want to steer you in the wrong direction. so yeah, let him know and then see how it goes.

 

[KeoSilver]

Sounds like a torrent file <,< >,> don't judge me, I am the undercover officer.

 

[Phenomena]

keep it
or delete it. lol

 

[Brad Henderson]

If his copies were not legal obtained, then you do not have legal copies. The ethical thing to do is delete them all and (if you want the information) acquire them from a legal source.

Brad Henderson

 

[cm763]

I can't believe you have a "friend" who would charge you for illegally obtained material (which he obviously would have gained free of charge).

Given the vast amount of material, it would seem like all of it is illegal, not just the "extras".

Also...isn't the selling of digital copies of material illegal anyway? Since they could easily be copied, and whatnot.

Either way...do what you want. Most of the people on here would just keep it all, no matter what they say (people love to act like they're the king of righteousness, but this is a forum of magicians...magicians...not exactly truth tellers, heh). But, in the end, the choice is up to you.

 

[tokyoUW]

forgetting the original post for a bit... but more about :

just don't be that much of a samaritan, its like receiving the too much change. although giving it back is the right thing to do. but you can keep it, i doubt anyone would fault you for that.

seriously?

There are right things to do, and the opposite, being not right. You can't have it both ways. Give the change back. And, if the people that you keep around you wouldn't fault you for knowingly keeping money that wasn't yours, or wrongfully given to you... well, then I pity both you and your friends for not knowing any better.

 

[Deechristopher]

Unless your 'friend' runs a store, I doubt he's got permission to resell the PDFs, when you buy a PDF from a store, a % goes back to the author, in this case, I doubt it is.

I'm pretty sure that some of the authors you mention haven't released PDFs, or have taken them off the market because of illegal distribution, so that would mean that the PDFs you bought are illegally scanned in and redistributed material - Which is naughty and rather disrespectful to the people who are making part of their living off this.

Follow Brad's words, if you want to learn the material, just buy it from a real shop, it may be slightly more expensive than what you paid your 'friend,' but at least you know that the author is benefitting from the sale!

Best,

DC

 

[Luka]

Delete it all. Even what you paid for. Kick your friend in the groin for being a dousch and take your money back, and a little extra for a waisting your time. Go to the magic shop or to a reliable website, and buy the product from there. THen you have a legal copy, the creators have made money and inspires them to release more. Everyone gos home happy. Except your friend. But he dosnt count because he is a dousch bag.

 

[Luka]

i understand about being a honest person, but seriously thats on his behalf, don't be an idiot, not calling u one by any stretch, just don't be that much of a samaritan, its like receiving the too much change. although giving it back is the right thing to do. but you can keep it, i doubt anyone would fault you for that.

if you want to be sure about everything let him know that he sent too much and if he's ok with it. then fine its a gift. (this is actually the righteous thing to do)

i wouldn't want to steer you in the wrong direction. so yeah, let him know and then see how it goes.

Unbelievable.....this is the worst reply....ever...and I mean.....ever

 

[dragon521]

Well it probably would have been more moral to torrent them yourself as you just allowed someone to make money off of torrenting files >.<

I don't see why you wouldn't take what you can get, but w/e, it's your decision.

 

[ThinkingMan]

You did nothing wrong

I agree with Cedric on this. You did nothing wrong. Just don't buy anymore from him if you are concerned about it.