copyright
Legality of copyright material from Z Library
<p>I've read in multiple places that distributing copyright material that you do not own is illegal. Therefore, uploading to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-Library" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Z library</a> is considered illegal.</p>
<p>However, on the point of downloading material without the intent of distributing, I have seen multiple view points. Some people stating that because the user who downloaded it does not re-distribute it there is no illegal activity or at least it is a gray area, as Z library operates under principle of &quot;information wants to be free&quot;. While others stating it is all completely illegal.</p>
<p>The two scenarios I'm aiming to clear up, in terms of legality, are:</p>
<ol>
<li>An individual downloads from Z library an eBook that he does not own the copyright to and uses it for personal purposes and does not redistribute or sell it.</li>
<li>An individual downloads from Z library an eBook that he does not own the copyright to and uses it for commercial purposes within a company, but does not distribute it outside of the company.</li>
</ol>
<p>Are these plain illegal? Are you able to download and use these books if you do not upload them elsewhere?</p>

<p>Copyright reserves to the copyright owner the exclusive right to reproduce the work (<a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-42/page-2.html#h-102726" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Copyright Act</em>, s. 3</a>; <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/106" rel="nofollow noreferrer">17 U.S. Code § 106</a>). Downloading a copyrighted work is a reproduction of that work and would be an infringement unless excepted (e.g. you have been given a licence, your download is fair dealing or fair use, etc.).</p>
<p><a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/office-consumer-affairs/en/connected-consumer/notices-canadian-internet-subscribers" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Canada lists downloading as an example of infringment</a>.</p>
<p>And the <a href="https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-digital.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">United States says</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Uploading or downloading works protected by copyright without the authority of the copyright owner is an infringement of the copyright owner's exclusive rights of reproduction and/or distribution</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You say: &quot;uploading to Z library is considered illegal.&quot; This implies the content on Z library is generally protected by copyright and not licenced for distribution via Z library, but that is a factual question.</p>

<p>A bit of light can be shed on the topic by looking at <a href="https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_urhg/englisch_urhg.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">German copyright law</a>, as well as aspects of US law. Insofar as the question relates to reconciling contradictory viewpoints on the legality of downloading infringed works purely for personal use and there does exist a mistaken popular belief that copyright law only protects against for-profit redistribution, it is not pointless to wonder where such an idea might have come from.</p>
<p>§53 of the German copyright statute says</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(1) It is permitted for a natural person to make single copies of a
work for private use on any medium, insofar as they neither directly
nor indirectly serve commercial purposes, as long as no obviously
unlawfully produced model or a model which has been unlawfully made
available to the public is used for the copying. A person authorised
to make copies may also have another person make such copies if no
payment is received therefor, or if it involves copies on paper or a
similar medium which have been effected by the use of any kind of
photomechanical technique or by some other process having a similar
effect.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The law is <a href="https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/urhg/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">written in German</a>, and I cannot speak to the reasonableness of the translation. This appears to allow personal-use non-commercial downloading, the only limitation being that you cannot use an &quot;obviously unlawfully produced model or a model which has been unlawfully made available to the public&quot;. Jen's answer correctly points out (to rephrase the conclusion) that only the copyright owner knows whether a given work available on such a website is made available with permission (I am certain about the infringing character of one book there). It is <em>not</em> a reasonable conclusion that any book on that site is &quot;obviously illegally uploaded&quot;, therefore it is arguable under German copyright law that non-commercial downloading of pirated material is legal.</p>
<p>US <a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/tags/fair-use/info">&quot;fair use&quot;</a> also provides a reason for thinking that redistribution and for-profit are what copyright law protects against: criterion 1 opposes commercial use vs. nonprofit educational use, and criterion 4 sanctions copying based on impact on the market for or the value of a work.</p>
<p>This does not mean that personal-use downloading <em>is</em> legal, it means that the belief that it is legal has some seeds in actual law.</p>
