Im all for the intellectual rights of the authors!
Reminds me of the book Noir by KW Jeter... Its a cyperpunk novel where AspHeads, which are a type of govt worker, hunt down copyright violaters & extract their spinal column, to make trophies from which are presented to the copyright owner...
He also wrote Blade Runner.
http://www.amazon.com/Noir-K-W-Jeter/dp/0553576380
But is borrowing a book from a friend copyright infringement?
S.