[PsyDocJoanne]

I'll preface this post by saying that while I read most of this thread, I scanned over parts of it for general content...so if I repeat something or have missed someone's vital point, please forgive me.

I've been very interested in the legalities of ebooks for a while (even before I got my reader). Part of my interest stems from my own experiences with pirated music and some friends' run-ins with the RIAA, and I think there are a lot of parallels (well, duh).

Thinking back to beginning of pirated music (and by beginning, I really mean when solid, reliable software for sharing music became available to the masses), I remember programs like BearShare, LimeWire, and Napster (in its early years). Most people thought that they could download music via these programs, knowing it was illegal, and not face any repercussions. After all, the internet is global and huge, you're just one person who wants your favorite songs, and it would cost millions for the RIAA to track you down and prosecute you, right? And they were right...for a while; after all, no one ever tracked you down for taping songs off the radio (and yes, I'm aware that quality of the pirated content makes a huge difference), and that was technically illegal.

Most regular folks (people who were downloading for personal use, not downloading to ultimately host those files on a server) were shocked when the RIAA started sending out cease and desist notices. While my pirated song count never reached above a couple of dozen (but yes, I did it), I knew two people who received RIAA cease and desist notices. These were, again, "regular" folks, but with more than 1,000 pirated songs for their personal use. As you know, the RIAA, while initially playing nice, wasn't playing around.

Fast forward to 2008. Now we're dealing with the same issues, only for ebooks. I would love, love, love to get all my pbooks in ebook format and have my entire library on my device. I purchased all those pbooks. I should be able to read them in any format I would like, since I own them--at least that's my opinion. I could go to any number of Websites Whose Names I Will Not Mention Here, and probably come close to being able to digitize my entire library.

Will I? Not likely. We're in a place right now where the likelihood of being prosecuted for ebook piracy is low. I'm confident, however, that will change...and it will change as rapidly as the ebook market expands.

So my point is that we can debate the legalities, the consequences, the loopholes, and the lack of common sense of piracy and fair-use laws, but all that goes out the window when you get a cease and desist notice. Whether you download "illegally" a book that you just don't feel like paying for, or you download "illegally" to format-shift a book you already own, it's a moot point in the eyes of the law.

So bottom line, I'm content to keep paying for content, for now, and see how this all shakes out.