Quote:
Originally Posted by desertgrandma
explain to me the difference between a paper version and an e-book version. Same content. The author gets royalties from the paper and legal e-book version. Not so from the illegal download. So in that respect, something is being taken....
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That point is not in respect to monetary gains and losses to the authors, but rather the idea that if you actually take a physical item, then you've
removed it, thus depriving someone else of that same physical item. You both can't have it at the same time. An e-book is a clone. Distributing it or taking it from someplace leaves the source intact.
Edit: It might make more sense to you if you consider the fact that pirated ebooks have more in common with the used book market than new books. No money goes to the author in either case. It's not about money, its about distribution and lending and reselling (or giving away for free). If you steal a used book then you've deprived someone else of that book. If you download a digital book, however, than some other guy can still come along and get that book too.