[darryl]

Originally Posted by Pulpmeister

If ten thousand copies are ripped off then the publisher is down 400,000 gross, and the author is down 40,000.

Thanks for your post. Whilst I see and appreciate the point you are making, the unstated assumption on which this relies is that every copy "ripped off" is a lost sale. I don't know just what percentage of total "ripped-off" copies equate to lost sales, and have not seen any decent research on the topic. Anecdotally, the percentage may well be quite small. Posts in various places suggest many reasons for piracy where it is doubtful that sales are lost, for instance, titles that:

1. Are downloaded in, say, a torrent of sometimes many thousand titles, few of which will ever be actually read and only a fraction if any would have been paid for.
2. Are unavailable as ebooks at the time they are acquired. (Some posters suggest that they will buy and pay when an ebook does come out or that they have already bought a paper version).
3. Represent a format-shift, from print to ebook, or from, say, mobi to epub.
4. Are downloaded by people who have absolutely no intention of paying for anything and would not purchase if they had to pay.

I make no comment on the moral or legal status of any of the above nor whether they have any efficacy or are simply rationalisations which people are using.

Originally Posted by Pulpmeister

Experience has shown - eg computer software - that anything digital can and will be stolen wholsesale.

The use of the word "stolen" in this context has been discussed extensively in other places. I personally don't believe its use is appropriate in this context, as it is a term more appropriate to tangible property, where the owner is deprived of the use of the item of property concerned. Legally the element of asportation required to establish larceny is missing, as is the required intention to permanently deprive the owner of the property concerned. The correct term is of course infringement of copyright, which is an accurate description, but does not carry the same strong connotations as theft.

And yes, it has proven almost impossible to prevent the copying of digital content. I have no doubt that there is a great deal of that copying done without the permission of or any reward to the creators of that content. But we don't know what percentage of any potential market is lost due to this. What is interesting to me is that despite the potential to obtain things for nothing, many, perhaps even the vast majority, do not. Certainly enough pay their way to retain viable industries. Studios still make movies, despite the fact copies are sometimes available online before the movie is officially released. Likewise, sales of music boom, though in at least one high profile case a prominent band was forced to release an album early because of digital copies. Sales of ebooks are booming, despite easy availability of pirate copies. ITunes goes from strength to strength, as does Amazon and Netflix, amongst others.

Piracy of digital content is a fact of life, and I cannot see it going away any time soon. Yet it appears many people will buy rather than pirate when it is made easy and convenient for them to do so, and an attractive, well priced product is presented.

Originally Posted by Pulpmeister

I can't think of an answer, and I don't think anyone else can either. If even the most rigorously defended software discs can be hacked free, if the Pentagon can be hacked with a cheap PC and a modem (and it has been), then there is no answer at all.

Welcome to Brave New World.

I agree. I certainly can't think of an answer either. But I do know what the answer is not. It is not abandoning essential freedoms by passing draconian laws and taking draconian measures to protect the vested interests of the few.

In the meantime life still goes on, and the market if left to itself will ultimately find its own solution. I doubt the book, record or movie industries will die, though they certainly will change drastically.