Quote:
Originally Posted by rkomar
The contents of the paper book and ebook may be the same, but the infrastructure around them is completely different.
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Not really. You go to Amazon.com, select a book, pay for it, and it gets delivered to you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rkomar
You don't buy an ebook, you buy a license to access the ebook. It is only for you, and can't be passed on to someone else. The license can be revoked at any time.
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This is just the way that it is implemented. The vendor wants me to buy the book. I buy the book. Some vendors will let me share the book. Some are working on letting me sell the book.
Other than the 'first sale' doctrine, these restrictions could be placed on physical books.
Have you read the 'license' on video tapes and DVD/BluRays? They claim you can't do all kinds of things with them. Which everyone ignores.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rkomar
You need to access servers to validate the license when DRM is applied to the ebook.
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This is only if the vendor imposes their DRM on the book. This is not something that is inherent with electronic books. If there is no DRM, there is no interaction with the servers once the book is delivered.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rkomar
Ebooks are treated just like software by the vendors, so it's no surprise that they get taxed the same way.
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The content of many books that I buy are simply scanned versions of the physical books, right down to the printing number on the copyright page. They are exactly like the physical book, with the exception of generally being of poorer quality, with many uncorrected scan errors.
And now, that poorer quality widget costs more.