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I have a printed version (i.e. a hardback or paperback) of a book and I wonder whether this allows me to possess an electronic version of it (e.g. .pdf file).
Edit: Isn't it allowed by the clause 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use., which says
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use
of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or
phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for
purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching
(including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or
research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether
the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the
factors to be considered shall include—
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use
is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to
the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of
the copyrighted work.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of
fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above
factors.
?
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An e-book is basically made of 2 things, that both have copyrights associated:
The content of the book
The edition of the book
The former is the work of the author to write the text. The latter is the work of the editor to turn the text into a presentable file.
A paper book is the same thing, plus a physical support, which have an intrinsic value due to its physical nature.
By acquiring a paper book, you obtain a licence over the content of the book, and the fair use right on the content of the book.
However, that does not grant you the licence over the edition of any ebook in particular, and therefore does not allow you to own a published electronic edition of the book. The important point here is that an e-book is always considered a different edition from the paper version.
Which does not prevent you to own any electronic edition, for example if you do it yourself. Making an electronic edition of the book (either by copying it, scanning it, OCRing it...) yourself enters in the fair use.
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If you want to digitize it yourself, you absolutely can under the First Sale Doctrine, provided that you own the copy of the books. I digitize books, so this actually wouldn't be daunting. At this point, however, I haven't started digitizing personal books yet. Yet.
I use free, open source tools to process ebooks from digitized books: Homer (sorts pages and performs OCR), ScanTailor(included w/ Homer), Sigil (for editing the epub), Calibre (for converting to mobi and other formats). If it is a print copy you don't care much about, you can cut off the spine, use a flatbed scanner to create tifs. If there is a library or copy center with fast feed scanners, this can be done in pretty short order. If the book is precious to you, you need a rig, which can be as simple as a cardboard box (see the Homer website) and a camera. Overkill? For some, but not if you get the skills under your belt. Fun? That depends on the quality of the OCR. :-)
That said, you can also check with the publisher. Smaller publishers offer discounted prices on ebooks if you own the print copy. If you want a digital copy for the short term, check your local library and see if they offer it.
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That would depend on the publisher. They are not required to provide an electronic version of the book but some do it to help sell the title. Usually you can check the copyright page in some and will have the last page at the end of the book that tells you it is included.
What you are asking is a selling feature of the book and some publishers even go as far to have it printed on the cover to encourage a purchase. Depending on when it was published, they didn't start including the electronic copy until approximately three years ago.
Per your edit:
You can scan the book if you want and create something like a web .pdf if you own the book but I wouldn't advise distributing (selling or giving away free copies in digital form) unless you have rights to it from the publisher or author.
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Just like buying a hardcover version doesn't let you also take a paperback from the store, no, having a print version does not entitle you to a complimentary ebook version, though some publishers will offer that when you buy from their websites.
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