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Originally Posted by BeccaPrice
but if I re-read a book, that's essentially reading a free book, which means fewer new books sold, which means less money for the authors.
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I assume that the price of the book takes into account things like rereading and loans. I may have mentioned this in the used book piracy thread.
My point is that books that are out of copyright are not on a level playing field with those that are in.
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Originally Posted by QuantumIguana
The intent of copyright is to give authors exclusive rights to their work for a limited time in exchange for the work entering the public domain at some point. It is not to supress works to that future authors on the fringe can make more money.
Long before e-books were available, people still bought paper copies of PD works. The "competition" would not go away if the books remained in copyright. People would still read Dickens. It is the obscure books that would disappear. Instead of reading Dickens for free, they would pay to read Dickens. How would that give you any more sales? If anything it would reduce the potential for sales of new books, because buyers would have less money in their pockets. Public domain books certainly aren't in competition for the reader's money.
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I am not anti competition. I am opposed to unfair competition. This has become a greater concern now, as a digital copy of an out of copyright book can cost next to nothing. In such a circumstance it is not on a level playing field with new books whose authors are still trying to make a living.