Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Sure, it's yours. But that doesn't mean that you can make a copy of it and give that copy to your neighbour, any more than you could with a paper book. Because now both you and your neighbour have it.
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Sometimes that's somewhat true and sometimes it's not the case at all. I have a spare Kindle I use for loaning books to neighbors who don't have one of their own. Of course they have to give it back to me when they've read it. So for a short time we both have a copy but I don't see how that's very important. As a practical matter since I usually don't suggest books till I've read them we'd rarely be reading it at the same time.
A few neighbors do have a Kindle so I can put a copy on it for them but they don't have a computer to save it on and wouldn't know how to make a copy even if they did have one. I'm in a retirement home in rural Arkansas. So when they're done with it the most they can do is leave it on the Kindle in case they want to read it again. I suspect they just delete them, though.
However, none of this really alters my thinking. I wouldn't lend a book to someone who I think might deliver it to a pirate site. But other than that if they're good neighbors I'll lend them books if they ask for them. I have no moral or ethical issues with doing that.
Then there's the general question: is it ethical to lend someone an ebook? I guess I just don't think that is a general question. It's something we all have to decide for ourselves.
Barry