[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by wizwor

Piracy is a term of art. In discussion of intellectual property, it includes unauthorized sharing and unauthorized reproduction. Since there is no actual theft involved, the rationalization is that unauthorized sharing pre-empts sales resulting in loss of potential income to someone. Some argue that the opposite is true -- that people sampling music, video, or literature choose to purchase the materials and related materials.

Piracy is taking something without paying for it. I think it is actual theft, and it has nothing at all to do with pre-empting sales. (That matters for figuring out the "cost" of piracy, but not for the definition.)

It's illogical to contend that libraries increase sales while torrents pre-empt sales.

Who is claiming that libraries increase sales? I don't buy books I check out from the library - that would defeat the purpose. However, the library itself does buy whatever books it lends, so in this sense it does increase sales dramatically more than torrents do.

I believe lending amongst friends is generally unauthorized.

And you are completly wrong. You can lend a book you own, and always have been able to. Copying is where copyright comes into play.

Is that covered by fair use? Can I share a DVD with a friend legally?

It's not covered by fair use; it's not a violation of copyright in the first place. Yes, you can share a DVD with a friend legally (i.e., you can give him the physical DVD.

What if it is a backup? Or a digital copy? Can I share it off my PC if I limit access to the shared area? If so, what restrictions must be applied? If you pick up my kindle and read a book I purchased is that OK? What if my college kid watches Netflix with his friends using my account? What if he is not in the room? Can I loan an iPad full of copyrighted materials to a friend?

Backup - No, of course not. Just like you can't xerox a physical book and sell the copy. (assuming, of course, no one gave you this right).
Digital copy - You can't share you made yourself. See above.
I'm not sure what you mean by "share it off your PC". People can use your PC to look at a copy of something you own.
Kindle - yes; people can look at stuff on your kindle.
Netflix - that depends on your Netflix TOS, but I don't think Netflix has a problem with it. I think they restrict the number of simultaneous uses of an account, so it's possible that you wouldn't be able to watch something of your son was watching it at the same time.
iPad - yes, you can loan an iPad with stuff on it.

It's messy and most people are guilty of breaking these laws in some manner on a regular basis.

I suspect that most people have broken these laws at one time or another, but I think they know that they were doing it. And I don't think it's *that* messy, really.

I'm not opposed to lending of materials at all. I'm simply opposed to separate standards. Going back to the original post, I think the solution is obvious: an ebook can only be borrowed by one person at a time. Just like a physical book.

These are the basic standards. However, just like with a physical book, if you've borrowed an e-book, you have the right to lend someone the device it's on.

For the rest of us, I think sharing something is OK as long as you are not profiting from another's work. If you do not want others to freely peer into the garden that you planted, watered, and nurtured, put a fence around it and charge admittance. Or give something extra to paying customers.

Well, I suppose it depends on what you mean by sharing. You can freely pass around a DVD you own or your kindle with books you own. You can't "share" a copy by posting it on the internet so that 2 million people can download it for free.

PS it's completely naive to suggest that libraries protect IP. The only difference between a public library and a torrent web site is that libraries protect
their 'pirates' privacy better than internet service providers.

No, there are tremendous differences between libraries and torrent sites. Like the fact that libraries pay the copyright holders for the right to lend their IP.