Quote:
Originally Posted by allen.gotwald
I'm a Sony 505 owner but I can appreciate the disclaimer. If a single book can be distributed to 500,000 people for free from a single source (a unique distribution capability of the internet of e-books) authors are hurt. Then again, I found an LRF copy of a sci-fi book I hadn't seen in 30 years that I'd read as a youngster. The book doesn't exist on shelves or on e-book store web sites so I didn't feel guilty about downloading and reading this treasure (that had $.25 on the cover). That's a capability unique to the net that normal distribution services don't cater to. It's a conundrum.
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It is a big issue. Although that is certainly one of the greatest single advantages of the digital realm, actually there's no reason why that e-book couldn't have still paid the author their due for your obtaining it.
Obviously it's up to the authors or publishers to work that out, and essentially set up an out-of-print e-book system. It's up to them whether they care if you just took one of their books for free. If not, you can enjoy whatever they deem is okay to give away.
Myself, I'd also be tempted by something that was not available in any other format, and was there for free to take. But I would probably exhaust the possibilities that there was no legitimate source for the material. I would also consider whether the book was considered in public domain before downloading it. Otherwise, I would likely leave it alone, since technically, downloading it without the author's permission would be wrong.
But that's me.