Quote:
Originally Posted by Sil_liS
I was talking about the ethical claim of the writer.
But tell me this: what happens if the one who digitized the book wasn't the same person that uploaded it? If they did the work for personal use, and someone took it and posted it, would it still be OK for the writer to make use of this work?
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Good question. I think the answer is yes, it would be okay.
The reason is actually the same as the one we often get when the question about "stealing" digital items comes up. Usually, it's in the context of questioning what has been "stolen" when a digital copy is made.
In your hypo, the person who digitized the file still has his digital file, i.e., the fruits of his labor. So what has he lost when the author appropriates the uploaded copy? He has been deprived of nothing, not even his labor. And unlike the author, he has no claim based on having created the content.
I think the hardest question is to take your scenario, and have no uploading at all. The digitizer makes a digital copy from a physical copy he already owns - something I believe he can do both legally & ethically - and somehow this comes to the attention of the author. Can the author demand that the digitizer hand a digital copy over to the author?
My own conclusion is (1) the digitizer has no obligation to hand over a copy of the file to the author and (2) once the file gets out into public, I don't see how the digitizer can say that the author has an obligation to give it back, even if somehow it's the only digital copy.