|
So I think both of us agree that the laws apply primarily to distributors of copyrighted materials. And, morality aside, it is likely not a copyright violation to acquire copyrighted material from a source not approved by the copyright holder.
So, back to the original poster, if the OP has, or should reasonably have, knowledge that the material was pirated, then acquiring that material would not be fair to the copyright holder and should seek another distributor.
But, if the OP finds a source for free copies, and has no knowledge that the material was pirated, or does know that the source is approved, by all means yes, please get your free ebooks from that source.
For example if the OP did a search for a particular title, found it on Amazon for $5, B&N for $5 and LegallyFreeEbooksLegitimate.com for $0, then the OP could go to the free site and acquire the book. There have been MANY times that I see free books on Amazon that B&N is not offering for free, and also the other way around. It is also very probable that the site does pay the copyright holder, but from money received elsewhere. It's really none of my business what payment agreements other people make.
If I did a search for one of my titles and (unlikely) found it on a site I didn't know about, I would surely pursue the issue. And, I might try to collect payment - from the distributor, not the party that acquired it.
So maybe I'm naive but I don't see a value for someone to just put up a site and give away free stuff. Again, I am (not too) naive, but I would imagine that most ebook sites are legitimate. Again, who runs a business, illegal at that, where they do not get anything in return.
So, in my thought process, most copyright violation sharing of ebooks is probably done individually, one at a time, from friend to friend. Yes, this is against the law. But it's probably not too big of a problem. I won't try to justify it because you can't make that case.
|