MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Is pirating a book that you already own ethical? Yes says NY Times Columnist.

Format C: · 04-07-2010, 07:59 AM

That's the fun part of Ethics....

I buy the Hardcover, and then I download the ebook from the dark
Cost: HC full price.
Consequence: author and publisher get paid for one copy. I got two copies
The act is illegal in some jurisdiction, and unethical to most people.

I buy the Hardcover used in mint condition from ebay, I scan & OCR myself the book.
Cost: HC half price, 5 hours of work.
Consequence: author and publisher are not paid. I got two copies.
The act is legal with few exceptions, and it is considered ethical almost by everyone.

I buy the HC used, and don't make a digital copy at all
Cost: HC half price
Consequence: author and publisher are not paid.
The act is legal and ethical everywhere.

Let's go one step further:
I sell the HC half price.
If I keep the digital copy, even if it's buried down somewhere in the middle of an heap of old CD-ROM that will be trashed in a couple of years, I'm doing bad.
If I don't keep that copy, nobody will trust me, and everybody thinks I'm keeping it.
Unethical in both cases, maybe illegal somewhere (I don't know...)

Last step:
I haven't got any digital copy at all. The only copy of that book I ever saw, is the Hardcover I bought for 5$ at a garage sell.
I read the book, and I sell it for 12$ on ebay.
Now, not only I read the book without any form of compensation for the author or the publisher. I'm even making money out of it.
And it's legal everywhere, and, I bet, it's ethically fair to almost everybody.

That's why I say that when ethics are involved, Digital is Evil.
The "unheticality" of an action is definitely unproportioned when it's performed in the digital world.

04-07-2010, 07:59 AM	#18
Format C: Guru Posts: 753 Karma: 1496807 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: The Third World Device: iLiad + PRS-505 + Kindle 3	That's the fun part of Ethics.... I buy the Hardcover, and then I download the ebook from the dark Cost: HC full price. Consequence: author and publisher get paid for one copy. I got two copies The act is illegal in some jurisdiction, and unethical to most people. I buy the Hardcover used in mint condition from ebay, I scan & OCR myself the book. Cost: HC half price, 5 hours of work. Consequence: author and publisher are not paid. I got two copies. The act is legal with few exceptions, and it is considered ethical almost by everyone. I buy the HC used, and don't make a digital copy at all Cost: HC half price Consequence: author and publisher are not paid. The act is legal and ethical everywhere. Let's go one step further: I sell the HC half price. If I keep the digital copy, even if it's buried down somewhere in the middle of an heap of old CD-ROM that will be trashed in a couple of years, I'm doing bad. If I don't keep that copy, nobody will trust me, and everybody thinks I'm keeping it. Unethical in both cases, maybe illegal somewhere (I don't know...) Last step: I haven't got any digital copy at all. The only copy of that book I ever saw, is the Hardcover I bought for 5$ at a garage sell. I read the book, and I sell it for 12$ on ebay. Now, not only I read the book without any form of compensation for the author or the publisher. I'm even making money out of it. And it's legal everywhere, and, I bet, it's ethically fair to almost everybody. That's why I say that when ethics are involved, Digital is Evil. The "unheticality" of an action is definitely unproportioned when it's performed in the digital world.