Quote:
Originally Posted by ProfCrash
If I have an e-book and I do not strip the DRM or back up my books and they are lost, I should not expect to be able to replace them for free.
At least, that is my take on it.
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Mine, too, although my reasoning is a bit different, and has a caveat.
I think that in the digital universe, what you get is not a license to use, or a copy of a digital object which you can "own." Instead, I think that what you get is a service - something along the lines of "convenient access to the digital content."
You buy that access in the context of a commercial transaction in which the provider agrees to allow access to the content. What kind of access, and how long you have that access, is dependent on the agreements inherent in that transaction, so long as those agreements are fair and reasonable (as opposed to overreaching contracts of adhesion imposed by the stronger party to the agreement, usually the seller.)
Sometimes, the seller agrees to keep a backup copy for you. Sometimes the seller doesn't. If the seller doesn't agree to expend its resources (time, energy, disc space) to keep a backup for you, you have the obligation to keep one for yourself, or get someone else to keep a backup for you.
It seems to me that you have no right to secure that backup from someone else who has not agreed to keep the backup for you.
So suppose I had a copy of the ebook and you asked me if you could copy it. If I said "okay," I think you could copy it, but if I said "no," I can't see that you would have any moral claim which would compel me to allow you to make a copy.
Likewise with the library. But we all know that the library will say "no."
So my answer is that if you can find someone who will agree to give you another copy, it is ethical for you to accept it, but if you can't find someone, you are out of luck.