Quote:
Originally Posted by Hitch
Ralph:
You are conflating two topics. The "copyright" issue has nothing to do with buying a used book. The author assigned or licensed his/her rights, under his copyright, to a publisher. (Or him/herself). The book was published. Someone bought it first-hand. The publisher collected the dough, did its split with the author. Subsequently, the book was re-sold (which it can be, as private, physical property). Period. That has NOTHING to do with the author's copyright, because by being sold, another copy is not being created. The first buyer loses the right to use it, and the 2nd buyer now has that right. That's all. The "copyright" wasn't transferred. Only one authorized copy of the book. Not the same thing.
We've already discussed what happens when you scan it for your own use and destroy the original, several pages ago. Nothing has changed in the last four pages. We discussed format shifting, and while it's technically illegal, in some jurisdictions, the likelihood of prosecution for a single-use copy, made from a licensed version (which is subsequently destroyed) is non-existent.
That doesn't affect copyright--not the author's rights, nor the publishers. It only affects infringement, if and when you then distribute the copy you made. That's all.
Hitch
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My point is what does a copyright consist of? A licence to the end purchaser? Something attached to a physical embodiment of a copy? What actually are you paying for when you buy a copyrighted item. This is more interesting to me than the chance of prosecution.
When a copyright holder insist that "it's mine, I have total control", where does that control really end, and the purchaser's rights (if any) begin?