A Question About Copyright

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ElderScrollsBjorn
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A Question About Copyright

Post by ElderScrollsBjorn »

Hello everybody! This is my first post on the UESP Forums, so my apologies for any mistakes I make. If you're on r/teslore, I posted this there as well.

I recently heard about The Hero's Guide to The Elder Scrolls Online, a collector's edition item ZOS released around the time ESO first came out. It contains three lore books, all of which are written from the perspective of Second Era denizens of Tamriel. The texts (and some of the images, as well) are available on both The Imperial Library website and The Elder Scrolls Wiki. I don't particularly like to read long books online or have $500 to spend on one of the 2014 copies listed on Amazon, so I'm wondering if it would be moral/legal to turn them into a printed physical edition for personal use. I would only use materials publicly available from UESP, TIL, and the Fandom Wiki like the content from the Hero's Guide and maybe some Legends artwork to spice things up. If necessary, I'd be happy to make a "works cited" page. I got the idea from a YouTube video I watched by Imperial Knowledge wherein he described his collection of Elder Scrolls books. However, I don't want to steal any intellectual property from Bethesda (for that would be a pretty poor attempt at appreciating their created universe!) or violate the law like a criminal scum. What say ye?
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Cassandra
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Re: A Question About Copyright

Post by Cassandra »

I don't claim to know what I'm talking about, but as long as they're available in their entirety free online already, and you print them purely for personal use, I don't see why it wouldn't be allowed. I don't think a works cited would be necessary, since you'd be the only one reading it and you'd know where everything was from.
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Re: A Question About Copyright

Post by legoless »

Regardless of whether you're in breach of copyright law, printing something purely for personal use will not have any repercussions.
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