[issybird]

Originally Posted by GERGE

For me; I believe that it is wrong when the content you are enjoying is locally licensed and available, otherwise there is nothing inherently wrong with it. But I still do it.

The three elements in this statement apply to me.

Originally Posted by HarryT

Immoral? No. But you need to be aware that you run the risk of having your account closed if you get caught.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I think it's usually more trouble than it's worth.

These are two reasons I mostly don't do it. There's a lot more riding on my Amazon account than just ebooks. It's not worth the bother of circumventing Amazon's controls, either.

Originally Posted by fjtorres

3- The owner/controller of the copyright decides, for better or worse, how and when and to whom they license their property.

<snip>

If it is important enough, why not buy the pbook?

<snip>

Or, if you are determined to have it your way, over the publisher's intent, just pirate the darn thing and be done with it. Either you respect the IP owner or you don't.

I agree that the owner sets the conditions and frequently I do just buy the pbook. However, I don't think that circumvention and piracy are moral equivalents.

One other factor, when I do circumvent, is that I don't think the gatekeeper (Kobo, natch) is holding up its end of the deal with the owner of the contents. They have no controls at all. Frankly, I think Kobo doesn't want to discourage circumvention, at least not yet - just as they were willing to sell books at a loss for a long time, presumably to get their numbers up/garner market share.

At a minimum, Kobo should be checking location and requiring that the address on the payment method match the "shipping" address on the account. Purveryors who are serious about enforcing georestriction do this. They have an obligation to the rights holder also; it's not the same as saying that leaving your door unlocked is an invitation to thieves.

Finally, I'm calling foul on those who say it's ok to circumvent georestrictions when you buy something, but to do the same thing for a work in the public domain in another country is the darkest depravity. I think it's exactly the same thing - going to the place which legally offers it at the best price.