Quote:
Originally Posted by barryem
Actually most books can't be loaned this way. At least not most of the books I read. A few can be. Hence there is a reason. Or would be if I didn't have a spare Kindle.
Barry
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And if you're not American, none of the books are lendable.
Regarding lawfulness and selfishness... I can see a number of scenarios here, and I do have to wonder.
Let's say I've bought a Kindle book and want my mother, who lives with me, to read it as well.
Scenario 1: my mother has a Kindle, we share the Amazon account. We can read the book at the same time. Publisher has lost a sale, but everything is legit. I'm a good daughter; I'm not breaking any laws.
Scenario 2: my mother has a Sony. I have bought a Kindle book, de-DRM it, convert it and share it with my mother. Publisher has lost a sale. I am a law-breaker but a good daughter.
Scenario 3: my mother has a Kindle and I have a Kindle, but we don't share an Amazon account. I pretend to be an American when buying the book; it's a rare book that can be loaned, so I lend the book to my mother. I have been a not-entirely-honest person but still worked more or less within the limits set by the existing system.
Scenario 4: my mother has a Kindle and I have a Kindle, but we don't share an Amazon account. I don't pretend to be an American when buying the book (which more likely than not means I pay considerably more for the book than an American customer would). I cannot lend it to her even if the publisher allows loans. I de-DRM my copy and give a copy to my mother. I am now a law-breaker.
Scenario 5: my mother has a Sony (or a Kindle but we don't share an Amazon account). I have bought a Kindle book. I de-DRM it for my own safekeeping and tell my mother that she can buy her own book (well, actually, I'd have to buy it for her since she couldn't afford it). I have broken the law but publishers are happy. I am a bad daughter
and a law-breaker.
Seriously though - I can see the legal differences in the above-mentioned scenarios, but how are scenarios 1 & 2 or 3 & 4 different morally/ethically/practically? How does one of them not hurt the publisher/shops and the others do (again, morally, not legally)?
(Please note that all the above scenarios are hypothetical as my mother does not read books in English anyway. For full disclosure, I
have given a de-DRM-d copy of a book away to two friends twice - a copy of a newly released book in a series, which both friends buy for themselves in (new, not second-hand) paperback, but I've wanted to discuss the book with them immediately, not six months later. Neither of them would have bought the book on release anyway, neither in ebook nor in hardback, so my doing so did not result in a lost sale. This, no doubt, makes me a really bad person, in addition to making me a law-breaker, which I am anyway, what with all the DRM-removal and backup-copy-making for my own purposes.)