Is it legal to download free webcomics?

[shooshoomanjoe]

Let's say you've been downloading webcomics from Collective Heroes. All the comics there are free to read even though some are sold through digital websites. What is the legality of downloading webcomics like these?

[Tami]

Let's say you've been downloading webcomics from Collective Heroes. All the comics there are free to read even though some are sold through digital websites. What is the legality of downloading webcomics like these?

What's the point of downloading them when you can read them online anytime you want? Seriously, the creators of Webcomics, most of them anyway, do it for a living. They earn money from sales of printed book or comic versions or from merchandise or from advertising. They own the rights to the webcomics, so isn't really legal to download a webcomic. Find out if the webcomic you liek has been published in book or comic form and purchase them. Even webcomic creators need to eat and pay rent.

[PaulBullion]

What's the point of downloading them when you can read them online anytime you want? Seriously, the creators of Webcomics, most of them anyway, do it for a living. They earn money from sales of printed book or comic versions or from merchandise or from advertising. They own the rights to the webcomics, so isn't really legal to download a webcomic. Find out if the webcomic you liek has been published in book or comic form and purchase them. Even webcomic creators need to eat and pay rent.

I disagree. I think it is legal the same way taping a tv show for your own personal use was legal. Making a back-up copy of music CDs for yourself is legal, too. For example, you might want to download a web comic to your mobile device to read it later. As long as you do not distribute copies (hence robbing the creators of possible advertising revenue), you're not doing anything wrong.

[Tami]

I disagree. I think it is legal the same way taping a tv show for your own personal use was legal. Making a back-up copy of music CDs for yourself is legal, too. For example, you might want to download a web comic to your mobile device to read it later. As long as you do not distribute copies (hence robbing the creators of possible advertising revenue), you're not doing anything wrong.

On a limited basis, sure. Even sharing comics is usually okay. But downloading an entire webcomic starts to touch the red line. Maybe not illegal if it is for your own personal use, but definitely not so good or fair for the webcomic creator who needs to sell their comics to earn money.

[MyriVerse]

What's the point of downloading them when you can read them online anytime you want? Seriously, the creators of Webcomics, most of them anyway, do it for a living. They earn money from sales of printed book or comic versions or from merchandise or from advertising. They own the rights to the webcomics, so isn't really legal to download a webcomic. Find out if the webcomic you liek has been published in book or comic form and purchase them. Even webcomic creators need to eat and pay rent.

Personally, I'm not connected to the internet "anytime." If any website has any sort of interesting content, I'm likely to download it. This is what the internet is for.