Quote:
Originally Posted by tompe
Well, maybe I was a bit flippant. But CDs take a lot of space so from a consumer perspective a file is much better. Also with "ought" I referred to what I would prefer the pace of the technological development and its use to be.
For me it really does not feel ethically wrong to rip your CD collection and sell it. It seems equivalent with buying a book, reading it, and then selling it. The normal use of a CD is to listen to it many times. The normal use of a book is to read it once.
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I think that the difference that some people see is that when one sells the CD, but continues to use a ripped copy, the ripped copy effectively becomes illegal because you've given up the license "token" that you previously had. The person that bought the CD from you legally purchased it, so has a right to the music, but you no longer do.
With a book, you don't retain a copy, so it's different.
So, while I wouldn't argue with you about what feels right and wrong to you - only you can determine that - I would argue that they are not equivalent cases.
One situation to think about would be buying a second-hand CD, ripping it, then selling it for the same second-hand price. In this case, the music has been obtained at no cost. Repeat, and one could build up a music collection without the creators being paid at all for it. Does that seem right?