Quote:
Originally Posted by deviant
Ah, yes - but here you're depriving someone else of that same book and stealing something the bookstore payed for. Stealing a physical book or downloading it from the internet is not the same.
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This is where the disagreement stems from. I think that stealing a physical book and downloading it from the internet illegally is
exactly the same thing. So does the law in most countries. So do most authors and publishers. Just because it "costs" less to distribute electronically than traditional publishing doesn't make it any different.
Just because other people have access to another file after you steal it doesn't make it different. You didn't pay for it and the author/publisher/estate didn't want you to have it for free. If they want you to have it for free, they will give it to you for free.
They (the author/publisher/estate) may accept that you may buy a paper book and give it away. They may accept that you can go to a library. They may accept that you can go to a 2nd hand used bookstore. But they don't accept that you take electronic copies and pass it around.
If they did accept that or wanted you to do that, then they would put their stuff (or all of their future stuff) for you on the web for free. And some
do do that. The one's who don't
probably don't want you stealing their crap! Ok, their books probably aren't crap, but I was being dramatic.
You know, there are authors who agree with you. They make their work available for you. Stick to their work and everything's cool. If you take the the work that people don't want you to have because they own it,
you are stealing!