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Originally Posted by JoeD
For example, libraries have to purchase each copy, they cannot just duplicate the books and hand out those copies (at least I hope they can't).
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17 USC § 108 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction by libraries and archives:
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(a) Except as otherwise provided in this title and notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an infringement of copyright for a library or archives, or any of its employees acting within the scope of their employment, to reproduce no more than one copy or phonorecord of a work, except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), or to distribute such copy or phonorecord, under the conditions specified by this section, if—
(1) the reproduction or distribution is made without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage;
(2) the collections of the library or archives are
(i) open to the public, or
(ii) available not only to researchers affiliated with the library or archives or with the institution of which it is a part, but also to other persons doing research in a specialized field; and
(3) the reproduction or distribution of the work includes a notice of copyright that appears on the copy or phonorecord that is reproduced under the provisions of this section, or includes a legend stating that the work may be protected by copyright if no such notice can be found on the copy or phonorecord that is reproduced under the provisions of this section.
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Emphasis added.
... Section B talks about 3 copies solely for in-library use; Section C talks about 3 copies if a new original can't be "obtained at a fair price." Digital copies can't be distributed outside of the library; physical ones can.
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Contrast that to piracy, there are no limitations in place to balance the ethical need for equal access with the rights/needs of the content creators and the economy.
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Part of that--a rather big part--is that media companies refuse to acknowledge any ethical need for access among people who haven't paid for a copy, despite the fact that used books and shared music have been a part of our cultural landscape since they've existed.
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If pirates were buying a copy and any time that copy was passed on, they deleted their version, so it was akin to the loaning of paper books. I'd have a hard time trying to justify why libraries are ok and piracy is not.
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Publishers have repeatedly refused to go along with technological measures that allow ebooks to work like that. Many can't be loaned with Amazon or B&N's loaning tech (for two weeks! Once per title!) much less transferred; no ebook store allows the transfer of one's purchases to a new person.
Part of the reason for rampant "piracy" is the total lack of *legitimate* ways to share digital art-and-entertainment media, even on a small scale.