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As part of the answer to this question, I should gather all PDFs from IndianScriptures.com and make a single PDF file out of them and share it on Hinduism SE. The site says after one creates an account they can download the content for free. So I created an account on that site and downloaded individual chapter PDFs. I also downloaded complete Matsya Purana and want to share it on Hinduism SE. This is the only site I found complete versions of Puranas along with Sanskrit verses.

Can we download, merge, host the PDFs (e.g., on Google Drive) and then share the combined Puranas on Hinduism SE? By doing so, are we going to break any copyright laws?

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    The important question isn't posting individual chapter PDF's vs. posting whole book PDF's, the important question is whether posting anything at all from indianscriptures.com is OK. The Digital Library of India and DSpace post documents that are in the public domain. But it's not clear to me if indianscriptures.com is engaging in copyright infringement of not. If it's not engaging in copyright infringement, then you are free to do whatever you like with the PDF - combine them, post them as links, etc. if not it might violate the terms and conditions of the Hinduism Stackexchange site.
    – Keshav Srinivasan Mod
    Commented Nov 21, 2015 at 17:45
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    I posted a related question here: meta.hinduism.stackexchange.com/q/332/36
    – Keshav Srinivasan Mod
    Commented Nov 21, 2015 at 17:50
  • i could not even ask this "query" on there site, due to a bug on their site.
    – The Destroyer Mod
    Commented Nov 24, 2015 at 11:59
  • Well, they provide an email address if you want to contact them: indianscriptures.com/ReachOutToUs
    – Keshav Srinivasan Mod
    Commented Nov 25, 2015 at 15:11

1 Answer 1

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Note: The following FAQ information is unclear (material is public domain and they don't allow copying).

From FAQ of that website:

Q: What is indianscriptures.com?

A: : This site strives to produce the best possible transcriptions of public domain texts on the subject of Hindu / Vedic religion, scriptures, Indian culture, lifestyle, heritage and the esoteric of India and Hinduism. This site is open to all free of cost: it is accessible to anyone and does not advocate any particular point of view, person, organization or any religious / non religious school of thoughts from India or abroad.

So, these are public domain texts. public domain means non-copyrighted.

Q: Can I use stuff from this website?

A: Our content is highly researched and authenticated by eminent universities in India. Hence we don’t allow our users to copy anything from the site partly or fully or with any variation in presentation.

So, they're not allowing to copy anything which means you should not publish the text with or without modification.

For further information about 'public domain' visit the following:

Conclusion:

Their current FAQs are unclear and confusing as they've used paradoxical language:

  1. One FAQ says: "public domain texts"
  2. Other FAQ says: "we don’t allow our users to copy anything"

Anyway, they don't want anything copied or published with or without modification.

You can contact them for further clarification.

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    "Some parts of the site are copyrighted. Please don't copy those parts." - which parts?
    – Say No To Censorship
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 16:06
  • @sv. Ask to indianscripturs.com
    – Pandya Mod
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 16:07
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    "Mention that the original work is published by indianscriptures.com" -- I think we should credit the book authors not the website. But they have removed the author and translator information from all the PDFs.
    – Say No To Censorship
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 16:10
  • @sv. You can check exoticindiaart.com to know respective translators for Puranas. For example, Shiva Purana was translated by Shanti lal nagar
    – The Destroyer Mod
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 16:28
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    @TheDestroyer Ok, but my question or concern is, why does indianscriptures.com remove the first few pages of the author or tr. info.
    – Say No To Censorship
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 16:30
  • @sv. Not sure. But they retained those pages for Garuda and Narasimha puranas.
    – The Destroyer Mod
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 16:31
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    @TheDestroyer Hold and wait, see update to answer.
    – Pandya Mod
    Commented Dec 21, 2016 at 7:49
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    "The whole site is copyrighted. We have not been allowing anyone to copy anything from the site anymore." -- Yeah, that makes sense because I've never been able to download a full document from their site, but the individual chapter PDFs are still downloadable. The way they designed their site looks like they don't want people downloading the PDFs even single chapter PDFs.
    – Say No To Censorship
    Commented Dec 21, 2016 at 20:41
  • @TheDestroyer Hmm... I think FAQ doesn't match their response through mail.
    – Pandya Mod
    Commented Dec 29, 2016 at 4:49
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    What to do with already downloaded content? Can you check on that? Can we provide links to existing downloaded content on our site?
    – Say No To Censorship
    Commented Dec 29, 2016 at 8:02
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    @TheDestroyer and Pandya - Their FAQs are now updated. Q: Can I use stuff from this site? A: The content of the website is copyrighted. No user is allowed to copy anything partially or fully from the website. But the 1st FAQ still reads: "public domain texts"
    – Say No To Censorship
    Commented Dec 29, 2016 at 18:40
  • @sv. Updated/Revised.
    – Pandya Mod
    Commented Dec 30, 2016 at 2:52

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