Quote:
Originally Posted by leebase
To say that "because I can give away a physical book I bought" or even resell it -- would not mean it's just as ok to give away a digital copy.
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I think the "honest people will buy" is just as much a fantasy world view as "DRM works". DRM is greatly flawed, but so is the notion that you can put out an easily copied digital file and feel no financial repercussions.
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OTOH, if ebooks could legally be resold, there'd be a lot less incentive to mass-distribute free copies. Customers would look for ways to restrict access to the books they bought & hoped to resell. They wouldn't blithely participate in mass torrenting and fileshare sites.
(I don't think allowing ebook resales, at this point, would change the filesharing sites quickly enough to suit publishers. But had there always been an awareness that "you can resell this," the free sites would be a lot smaller.)