copyright united-kingdom internet australia public-domain
Transferring public domain material into a country where it is still in copyright
<p>I've noticed that, in Australia, books created by authors who've died before 1955 are in the public domain. </p>

<p>For example, all of George Orwell's works are available from the University of Adelaide: <a href="https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/o/orwell/george/">https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/o/orwell/george/</a></p>

<p>It mentions on the website that you must check the copyright laws in your country before downloading. However if one was to download it in Australia and transport it to a country where the copyright is in force (say, the UK), would it be illegal?</p>

<p>If this would not be illegal, where is the line drawn between importing something physically like this, and downloading it?</p>

<p><em>Prompted by <a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/q/26760/3209">this recent similar question</a>, I've revisited this question and deleted my original answer as it was completely off the mark. This is its replacement.</em></p>
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<p>It is illegal, and it turns out to be an international standard in the Berne Convention. <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Convention_for_the_Protection_of_Literary_and_Artistic_Works/Articles_1_to_21#Article_16" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Article 16</a> in full:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(1) Infringing copies of a work shall be liable to seizure in any country of the Union where the work enjoys legal protection.</p>
<p>(2) The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall also apply to reproductions coming from a country where the work is not protected, or has ceased to be protected.</p>
<p>(3) The seizure shall take place in accordance with the legislation of each country.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Your scenario falls squarely within point (2) and the imported George Orwell book is to be treated as an infringing copy within the UK.</p>
<p>The implementing UK legislation for (2) can be found in <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/section/27" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Section 27(3)</a> of the <em>Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988</em>.</p>
