Scrupulosity: "I'm just following orders"

[JSSebastianoP]

So, I’m a college student, and my teachers like to photocopy passages from books and put them on the internet; that’s not really a problem, but my Italian teacher photocopied a whole book that we have to read, which I believe is against (just) copyright laws. Should I read from that pdf to do my work, or should I borrow a copy from a library (ILL, so I can’t get the book immediately, but I have placed a request) or buy a copy online?

Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, but sometimes I need to know if either I’m being too scrupulous or really sensing a moral problem…

Thanks in advance,

Pax,

Sebastiano

 

[JimG]

Sounds to me like your teacher did in fact violate copyright law. But I’m not sure that binds you in any way, since he assigned his pdf copy to the class as reading material. Perhaps there would be a way to discreetly inquire as the legality of this from the school administration or legal department.

 

[Alexander_Smith]

Copyright law and IP infringement are sketchy. Just because it’s a law, doesn’t mean there is a moral force behind it.

 

[JRKH]

So, I’m a college student, and my teachers like to photocopy passages from books and put them on the internet; that’s not really a problem, but my Italian teacher photocopied a whole book that we have to read, which I believe is against (just) copyright laws. Should I read from that pdf to do my work, or should I borrow a copy from a library (ILL, so I can’t get the book immediately, but I have placed a request) or buy a copy online?

Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, but sometimes I need to know if either I’m being too scrupulous or really sensing a moral problem…

Thanks in advance,

Pax,

Sebastiano

OK - assuming that your prof violated a copyright law, are you guilty if you use this???

hhmmmm -

The Prof had one book that he made available to everyone at the same time (he is not charging a fee)
The Library has one book that it makes available to everyone - but not all that the same time ( and they are not charging either)

Me thinks it is OK to use the PDF copy.

Peace
James

 

[bubble_lady]

The professors and /or the college may have purchased the rights to copy the books, and in that case, no one is guilty of violating the copyright laws.

 

[odile53]

Did you check the publication and copyright dates of the book? It may already be in the public domain.

 

[momor]

Great question but I don’t know the answer. It’s possible your prof got permission from the author. Technically, even copying portions of books or journal articles for distribution is copyright infringement.

When I was in grad school and we were reading a lot of peer reviewed research our profs took the copyright infringement very seriously and did not hand out copies. We were required to use the online journal service that our school paid mega-bucks for and which we had access to as part of our tuition. It was OK to make a copy for personal use but not to share or distribute.

 

[JimG]

OK - assuming that your prof violated a copyright law, are you guilty if you use this???

hhmmmm -

The Prof had one book that he made available to everyone at the same time (he is not charging a fee)
The Library has one book that it makes available to everyone - but not all that the same time ( and they are not charging either)

Me thinks it is OK to use the PDF copy.

Peace
James

But if a library bought just one copy of a book, then made copies enough for everyone, it would be a clear violation, and be an economic detriment to the author.

 

[JSSebastianoP]

Did you check the publication and copyright dates of the book? It may already be in the public domain.

Yes. It was a book written in Italy 1958, with and English translation in the '80s. I borrowed the English translation to keep up with the readings for now, but I really should work in Italian I think… I’m just hoping my ILL comes in soon…

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to answer.

Pax,

Sebastiano

 

[JSSebastianoP]

So, in the case of uncertainty, should I just use his pdf?

Pax,

Sebastiano

 

[JRKH]

So, in the case of uncertainty, should I just use his pdf?

Pax,

Sebastiano

Yes.
Since you do not know that he did anything wrong, err on the side of Love and assume he did not. Thus the PDF is legitimate and you can use it.

Peace
James

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

So, in the case of uncertainty, should I just use his pdf?

Pax,

Sebastiano

Back when I was in college, this would happen often with foreign language texts, they sometimes would not be available in the US…

I see that you are from NY…maybe the Enrico Fermi Library in the Bronx has the book you need…they have a large Italian collection.

I used to live in the Bronx.

 

[JSSebastianoP]

Back when I was in college, this would happen often with foreign language texts, they sometimes would not be available in the US…

I see that you are from NY…maybe the Enrico Fermi Library in the Bronx has the book you need…they have a large Italian collection.

I used to live in the Bronx.

My father grew up in the Bronx!

Actually I’m in Hartford, CT for college. I’m a homey type of person, so I still consider NY my home and when I register to vote this year, I’ll be registering in my hometown in NY…

But thanks for the suggestion…

Pax,

Sebastiano

 

[JSSebastianoP]

Yes.
Since you do not know that he did anything wrong, err on the side of Love and assume he did not. Thus the PDF is legitimate and you can use it.

Peace
James

I think I understand this line of reasoning, by I was just wondering, do you, or does anyone else, have some theological document/ quote from the Catechism that teaches this?

I’m not trying to insult you by asking this, I just was wondering if there were any documents to back it up, what the line of reasoning is behind it…

Thanks!

Pax,

Sebastiano

 

[The_Old_Medic]

If your instructor posted instruction for you to commit a murder, and then assigned you to follow those instructions, would that be a sin for you to do it? Of course it would.

Yes, it is a sin to knowingly violate the law. Not only would I get a copy of the book legitimately, I would also report this instructor to the publisher of the book, and to the head of his department. He could get this school into serious trouble by doing things like this.

 

[JRKH]

I think I understand this line of reasoning, by I was just wondering, do you, or does anyone else, have some theological document/ quote from the Catechism that teaches this?

I’m not trying to insult you by asking this, I just was wondering if there were any documents to back it up, what the line of reasoning is behind it…

Thanks!

Pax,

Sebastiano

No documents…Just my view of how I would handle it.

Peace
James

 

[JSSebastianoP]

If your instructor posted instruction for you to commit a murder, and then assigned you to follow those instructions, would that be a sin for you to do it? Of course it would.

Yes, it is a sin to knowingly violate the law. Not only would I get a copy of the book legitimately, I would also report this instructor to the publisher of the book, and to the head of his department. He could get this school into serious trouble by doing things like this.

Okay. I understand this line of reasoning, but what should I do if I’m not 100% sure he did violate the copyright law or not; which way should I err (not in the sense of commit a sin, but in the sense of, well, i think you get it)?

Pax,

Sebastiano

 

[momor]

Okay. I understand this line of reasoning, but what should I do if I’m not 100% sure he did violate the copyright law or not; which way should I err (not in the sense of commit a sin, but in the sense of, well, i think you get it)?

Pax,

Sebastiano

If you suffer from scrupulosity you know how easy it is to get caught up in this endless circle of ruminating over actions/assumptions and counter-actions/assumptions. That’s why the recommended course of action for people who are scrupulous is to have a single priest confessor who knows you are scrupulous and can advise you what to do. That takes the responsibility off of you to try and endlessly figure out the right thing to do, especially when things are not clear as in this case.

Good luck and don’t worry no matter what action you take. God sees your effort and knows how you struggle to do the right thing and that’s how He will judge your decisions, not whether they are perfect.

 

[JSSebastianoP]

After doing some research on copyright laws, and for teachers, I think that perhaps 1 chapter could be considered fair use. So I’ve decided to read in the pdf the first chapter in Italian and then try to use the translation until I can get my hands on an Italian version…

Thanks everyone for bearing with me…

Pax,

Sebastiano

 

[wworld]

I just skipped to the end to post a reply, so excuse me if this has already been said.

I, being a student, have also been troubled by copyright laws (because breaking copyrights and plagiarism are two completely different categories. You can still be breaking a copyright if you give credit to the author, for example). However, I’ve researched into this and found some “legal loopholes.” Something called, Fair Use Rights.

I found this great checklist, too, that helps determine if using something is Fair Use. Here in the USA, this means that under certain circumstances you can ‘ignore’ copyright laws.

Here’s a useful Fair Use explanation: library.umf.maine.edu/plagiarism/copyright/fair_use.html

and a detailed worksheet for determining: d.umn.edu/lib/copyright/worksheet.htm

EDIT: Seems that I’ve come pretty late to the game hopefully my links will help you though