Quote:
Originally Posted by Yapyap
Regarding lawfulness and selfishness... I can see a number of scenarios here, and I do have to wonder.
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Nicely done. That's pretty much what I was trying to say but I wasn't able to express it so well.
I don't rob banks because I don't want to get caught. I don't do large scale distributions of copyrighted books for reasons of conscience. But I do like to share books with friends and family and I wish I got to do it more than I do. It's really a lot more fun to read a book at the same time someone else is reading it and to have someone to discuss it with.
Publishers control the copyright laws to a great extent. The DMCA and the 1998 (I think that was the year) copyright bills were actually written by Disney's lawyers as a "favor" to Congress. Impressive generosity!
Sharing a copy of a book may be illegal but it's morally a good thing to do, in my occasionally humble opinion. Making it illegal to share a book with a friend or family member is morally repugnant. I'm not one who believes that two wrongs make a right but their actions make it pretty easy for me to feel guiltless in all this. I don't pretend that I am guiltless; just that I feel guiltless.
Barry