Quote:
Originally Posted by Hellmark
Copyright law specifies a difference in between broadcast and non broadcast works. If something is broadcast, anyone is legally able to receive it, and from that point it is as if you were legally granted a copy and the same rules for personal use copy apply. If you borrow a book, you do not own that copy, so do not get legal fair use.
The end isn't the same. The entire point is, you're not allowed to give out copies, period. It doesn't matter to who, or why. If you own a paper book, a friend also owns a copy, and made an ebook and gives you a copy of that ebook, you can legally have a copy for personal use, but your friend was the one who broke the law because he redistributed without permission. All the people who get snagged by the RIAA and MPAA for pirating movies and music online, they're getting in trouble for uploading to others, and not the downloading.
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^ This is exactly right and how I understand these matters, especially the end part. Not possible to nail every single downloader of U2's new CD, so do like America's "War on Drugs" attempts to do - go after the source, the dealers or the uploaders.
Of course, one significant thing that the MPAA and the RIAA fails to realize is exactly how miserable a failure the War On Drugs has been.
There will always be supply, always another drug dealer, always another Robin Hood uploader. Far better to deal with the demand, in this case, educating people on the evils of drugs and why grabbing copywrited, protected stuff for free might really be taking food out of other people's mouths.
Like I said, I ain't no angel, but I also have thousands of pbooks and CDs/DVDs that I have legitimately purchased in my lifetime.
'nuff said on this from me.
cheers,
-les