Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Do you think that buying a hardback book gives you the right to a free paperback? The argument that buying a paper book gives you the right to a free eBook completely eludes me, I'm afraid!
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Without taking sides on the issue of getting an illegal digital copy of a book you already own (as a writer myself, I don't want to get into the whole question), you are comparing two different things. In the situation you suggest, you are not just obtaining a new format of the book, you are physically stealing something (i.e. the paperback book).
However, if you own a hardcover book, but you'd like a second copy that you don't mind taking with you to the beach, (because it's one of those heavy textbooks which costs hundreds of dollars and you don't want to risk water splashing all over it), legally, you would have the right to photocopy the book and take the photocopy with you to the beach and you then have a paperback copy of your book. Of course, the fact that it may well cost more to make the photocopies than to purchase a second copy in paperback deters most people from doing that (again, unless it's one of those ridiculously expensive textbooks which costs hundreds upon hundreds of dollars to begin with), but it is perfectly legal to do since it falls within the "fair use" parameters.
Eric