Quote:
Originally Posted by DixieGal
I never thought of it that way. I guess in such a situation where an ebook was copied to someone instead of physically handed to someone else, it would be possible for a single buyer to make a negative impact on sales. Much to consider here.
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Perhaps, but provided the original buyer of the work, or anyone who received it, did not violate legitimate fair use of the work, it really makes no difference that the original copy exists.
Yes, giving an electronic copy to a friend might impact potential sales, but then again, so can loaning a book. I can pretty much assure you, that far more people have read Harry Potter than have actually purchased a new copy of the book. Many people borrow from libraries and friends; they buy used, etc. There are a number of different types of readers out there; only a relatively small set of them are habitual collectors (i.e., they buy and keep most of what they read). Every person who buys and then resells, or gives, or lends their books out ultimately impacts the bottom line. That being said, that is part of fair use.
DRM, ultimately limits the ability of people to make legitimate fair use of their books. Lets say a book is available only on Kindle. Well, I can't buy the book because Amazon only sells to Kindle owners (imagine if Sony only allowed you to play Sony CD's on Sony players?). But lets say, I do have a Kindle, download the book and then my Kindle breaks. I haven't read the book yet, but I would like to. I still own it; its still sitting on my computer. If it has DRM, my only option is to buy another Kindle, even though by the time this happens, there might be eBook readers I like quite a bit more. In a world without DRM, I could format shift the book (which is covered under fair use) to work with any other device I might like.
Ultimately, I am far more convinced that DRM is about limiting fair use far more than it is about limiting piracy.
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Bill