Answers.Body: <p>First, in USA pdfdrive is probably operating on the fringe of legality. They scrape the internet for free pdf files to make it available in their service. I see several books there which shouldn't be there, which means that someone made an unauthorized copy and then put it on their website. Then PDFDRIVE will locate this copy and store it until someone complains. PDFDRIVE will remove things upon request, but of course, many publishers are too busy to complain. </p>
  
  <p>The legal consequences may differ depending on what country you in. Generally speaking though, the consequences are more severe for people who share or distribute copyrighted material without permission. If you download it for private use, you are unlikely to pay a penalty. I am speaking generally. </p>
  
  <p>I would think of it in another way. What is the right thing to do? Is the ebook easily available in your country? Is the cost of trying to obtain a legal copy significantly higher than other books produced in your country? </p>
  
  <p>Also: what is your status/economic level? Generally if you are a student or teacher, you face fewer legal consequences (if any). If your monthly income is $500, and the cost to buy a foreign-produced book in your country is $75, I would consider that price to be excessive. Academic textbooks in particular are expensive for people in developing countries (and many of these publishers  try to discount their prices for customers in that region). </p>
  
  <p>One way to deal with this ethically is to try first, buy later. If you find an unauthorized copy of an ebook and end up using it a lot, perhaps you will feel a duty to buy it later. </p>
  
  <p>Finally, there's a lot of free and low cost ebooks (and wikipedia). While certain well-known books may cost a lot, often there are low-cost books which are equivalent or better. It just takes a little more time to find them. </p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2019-08-25T07:27:41.970Z
Answers.Text: thank you for the comprehensive answer.
  however, as I live in Pakistan and my monthly income is less than $250, and the actual cost of book is $34. I'm assuming that If I use that book for my learning purpose, it should be fine.
  but how about ethics ? I emailed to the publishers of book, they said you have to book the buy
Answers.UserDisplayName: user13092
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2019-08-26T13:37:03.847Z
Answers.Text: I agree, that is a substantial burden for you, and it is not realistic to expect someone in your situation to pay that much. I am not going to try to discourage what you have to do. But as I said before, there's often a lot of free and low-cost alternatives out there on the Internet which don't cause these problems. Good luck!
Answers.UserDisplayName: idiotprogrammer
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-04-22T14:18:28.733Z
Answers.Text: me too, I have downloaded tons of novels and whatsoever on the site. However, this is because I don't have a steady income and I cant afford to buy the book. For small authors, I plan to buy the books later and gift them to somebody but for those like Danielle Steele. nop
Answers.UserDisplayName: Hey
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2019-08-24T16:40:38.253Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2019-08-24T16:40:38.253Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: idiotprogrammer
Body: <p>My title says it all. Since I found many books too pricey, but I found some of them available free of cost on <code>pdfdrive.com</code> can I use them for my learning purpose legally?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2019-08-24T14:19:22.307Z
Comments.Text: Where are you from? I think this depends on the laws of your country.
Comments.UserDisplayName: grrigore
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2019-08-24T14:29:26.540Z
Comments.Text: Pakistan, but we have no laws for this here
Comments.UserDisplayName: user13092
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2019-08-27T21:14:05.820Z
Comments.Text: @user13092 I believe you have laws, but they are not enforced: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_Pakistan
Comments.UserDisplayName: Martin Schröder
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-01-19T12:27:18.193Z
Comments.Text: I wonder if I paid for the audiobook is it legal to download the PDF to read along?
Comments.UserDisplayName: user16109
Tags: <law>
Title: Can I use books from pdfdrive.com (legally) for my learning purpose?
UserDisplayName: user13092
ThreadText: # Can I use books from pdfdrive.com (legally) for my learning purpose?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2019-08-24)
  
  My title says it all. Since I found many books too pricey, but I found some of them available free of cost on `pdfdrive.com` can I use them for my learning purpose legally?
  
  **Tags:** law
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: Where are you from? I think this depends on the laws of your country.  
  > **username_0**: Pakistan, but we have no laws for this here  
  > **username_2**: @username_0 I believe you have laws, but they are not enforced: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_Pakistan  
  > **username_3**: I wonder if I paid for the audiobook is it legal to download the PDF to read along?  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_4 on 2019-08-24. Score: 5 | Accepted answer
  
  First, in USA pdfdrive is probably operating on the fringe of legality. They scrape the internet for free pdf files to make it available in their service. I see several books there which shouldn't be there, which means that someone made an unauthorized copy and then put it on their website. Then PDFDRIVE will locate this copy and store it until someone complains. PDFDRIVE will remove things upon request, but of course, many publishers are too busy to complain.
  
  The legal consequences may differ depending on what country you in. Generally speaking though, the consequences are more severe for people who share or distribute copyrighted material without permission. If you download it for private use, you are unlikely to pay a penalty. I am speaking generally.
  
  I would think of it in another way. What is the right thing to do? Is the ebook easily available in your country? Is the cost of trying to obtain a legal copy significantly higher than other books produced in your country?
  
  Also: what is your status/economic level? Generally if you are a student or teacher, you face fewer legal consequences (if any). If your monthly income is $500, and the cost to buy a foreign-produced book in your country is $75, I would consider that price to be excessive. Academic textbooks in particular are expensive for people in developing countries (and many of these publishers try to discount their prices for customers in that region).
  
  One way to deal with this ethically is to try first, buy later. If you find an unauthorized copy of an ebook and end up using it a lot, perhaps you will feel a duty to buy it later.
  
  Finally, there's a lot of free and low cost ebooks (and wikipedia). While certain well-known books may cost a lot, often there are low-cost books which are equivalent or better. It just takes a little more time to find them.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: thank you for the comprehensive answer. however, as I live in Pakistan and my monthly income is less than $250, and the actual cost of book is $34. I'm assuming that If I use that book for my learning purpose, it should be fine. but how about ethics ? I emailed to the publishers of book, they said you have to book the buy  
  > **username_4**: I agree, that is a substantial burden for you, and it is not realistic to expect someone in your situation to pay that much. I am not going to try to discourage what you have to do. But as I said before, there's often a lot of free and low-cost alternatives out there on the Internet which don't cause these problems. Good luck!  
  > **username_5**: me too, I have downloaded tons of novels and whatsoever on the site. However, this is because I don't have a steady income and I cant afford to buy the book. For small authors, I plan to buy the books later and gift them to somebody but for those like Danielle Steele. nop  
  
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