Receiving PDF book from a classmate to write a book review for the University course evaluation is it a crime?

Question

Let's imagine this scenario: "I was looking for a book online and my classmate texted me oh I have that book in PDF, I can send you. Then I read this book and wrote a book review to complete one of the University courses, like an exam. I heard that it is illegal downloading books illegally, but in this case, did I commit crime unintentionally and can I be sent to the prison or be penalty", I mean by receiving a PDF book of which origin I did not know, I did not know from where my classmate had it? :(((((

Answer 1

This is certainly not a crime in the US. Under US law, copyright infringement is only a cri9em when done for profit, and is not prosecuted unless done for profit on a large scale. More specifically 17 USC 506 says (in relevant part):

(1) In general.—Any person who willfully infringes a copyright shall be punished as provided under section 2319 of title 18, if the infringement was committed—

(A) for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain;

(B) by the reproduction or distribution, including by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copies or phonorecords of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of more than $1,000; or

(C) by the distribution of a work being prepared for commercial distribution, by making it available on a computer network accessible to members of the public, if such person knew or should have known that the work was intended for commercial distribution.

The situation described in the question does not fit any of A, B, or C above.

Now as to civil copyright infringement under US law. Your friend might have commited infringement by making a copy and giving it to you. That depends very much on where s/he obtained it and under what license. It is possible that your friend had the legal right to make a copy. If your friend had a copy lawfully s/he would be entitled to lend or give it to you. Making another copy requires permission. And of course if s/he did not even have the legal right to access the ebook, or got it from a pirate site, s/he had no rights at all. But you did not make a copy, o9r distribute one. You have not infringed any of the rights that make up copyright. Even if your friend infringed, you didn't, as far as i can see, based on what is stated in the question. Copyright (in nthe US) does not include the right to control who reads a work.

The above rules for civil copyright infringement will apply in most countries that have signed the Berne Copyright Convention, which is most countries in the world.

If your friend actually hacked into a compute to get the ebook, and you knew or should have know this, you might have some liability as an accessory. The US law would be the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Other laws would apply elsewhere. But nothing in the question implies this.