Quote:
Originally Posted by RobertDDL
Just for the sake of having a nice stimulating discussion...
I'm willing to confess to the theft, but to make this confession valid, I have to (as the German phrase goes) name horse and rider -- what have I stolen, and from whom did I steal it?
Did I steal from the publisher? But if they had it, either in print or digitally, they'd sell it to me. Since they don't, they don't have it. The thing I want -- a new pbook, or a legal download -- doesn't exist. So, can I steal something that doesn't exist, from someone who doesn't have it?
Did I steal from the author? But, with the book not for sale as ebook or new pbook, there is no way she can receive any money from me. If I bought it used, or if I borrowed it from a library if they had it (the only alternatives to downloading the pirated copy), she wouldn't receive payment either. So, which amount do I steal from her when I choose one action from which she doesn't profit, over a different action from which she doesn't profit?
Did I steal from the used book vendor, who asked $350? But my only interaction with him was that I walked by his (online) shop window, saw his price tag, and decided not to buy from him. As I did with a different vendor, who asked even more. They both still have their copies -- have I stolen from one of them, or from both, just by not buying from them at the outrageous price they asked?
I still have the feeling that I've done something wrong (even if morally excusable and legally not actionable), but it puzzles me, what, of which specific monetary value, have I stolen from whom...?
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Well, now. Keep in mind that copyright doesn't grant an author the right to make money off their work. It grants an author the right to control distribution.
There have been people who didn't want their work to be available to the public at all.
I am not judging whether you should do so or not. However, I do think it is important to keep in mind that while as a consumer we naturally feel entitled to obtain what we want -- and pay for that right, except when we can't, which sometimes leads to piracy -- there really is no such inherent right.
And how much of this is moot because no one will ever try hauling a consumer into court over the matter?
I will keep my own counsel on whether or not I might end up pirating such books.
