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!
|
I did not read through this entire thread but I wanted to address this point that I have seen Harry make multiple times now. I think this is a fallacious argument. If you are referring to a published paperback here, then you're referring to the physical property of someone else. Of course a person can't just go grab a free copy if he already owns a hardback. That paper and glue and ink does not belong to him. He hasn't paid for it. However, if he owns a copy and decides to print a smaller, more pocket-sized copy for himself, that's his right.
When people purchase a CD, consumers expect that they also have ready access to MP3s of the music by way of ripping that CD. You said in another post that you don't think this is unethical but that it is considered copyright infringement in the UK. That's interesting and, I think, a sad state of affairs over there. It's not illegal in the US, though, so consumers here have a right to expect that they can make their own digital backups of what they own. It is, of course, not the onus of the publisher to use their own resources to supply such copies to consumers against their will, but consumers are allowed to use their own property and resources to that end.
In relation to the original post: while it is illegal to rely on other people's copies of the same book, I would not personally consider it unethical. As long as you don't get any text not included in your edition (like a new forward, for instance), it should not be illegal under current copyright law. The government's concern is that they have no way of regulating this. I wish the government had no way of regulating a lot of things.