Quote:
Originally Posted by PKFFW
Something occurred to me so I thought I'd ask for clarification.....
Most of the arguments used by "file-sharers"(as opposed to copiers or pirates I suppose) to argue that "file-sharing" is not wrong, seem to stem from one or more of the following.....
1: The old method is outdated. Big corporations are trying to protect their profits at the expense of authors, the consumers etc. This is bad.
2: The price is too high. Ebooks really should be alot cheaper to produce and market than pbooks. Therefore, charging the same or more for an ebook just isn't right.
3: DRM is like a license and not like owning the book. If one is to purchase the book, one should own the book and not a license.
4: They use "file-sharing" as a way to sample a product and have every intention of purchasing a legitimate copy if they like it.(seems to contradict point number 2 but whatever)
So, what I wanted clarified was..........
Let us, for the sake of argument, assume there is book out there that is self published, thereby assuring all profits go to the author, it is DRM free, it is reasonably priced and easily obtainable legally and one can sample the first 5 chapters free of charge to see if they like it or not.
In this case, would "file-sharing" the full text of the ebook through a mechanism such as p2p to unknown persons be considered wrong? Would obtaining a copy of said book through such a mechanism as p2p be wrong?
Cheers,
PKFFW
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A little late, but what the hey, I'd like to take a stab at this one.
Okay, this is not wrong, and I'll make my arguments why it isn't.
1. It's highly unlikely to happen. Authors who give away their material and are without DRM are not popular on file sharing sites. There is no point in copying a product that is reasonably priced and without DRM, so the file sharers wouldn't be interested to begin with.
2. Nothing is lost if it is shared. If it was shared (again, highly unlikely) those who shared it would not have bought it. Zero sum game. A lost sale cannot be quantified when the someone sharing the copy would not have paid for it in the first place. Whereas you might gain sales if it is available to a larger audience.
3. The author should want it shared. Authors need readers, the file sharing community is millions strong and growing every day. You make a splash in file-sharing, you will gain a market that with DRM and restrictions you wouldn't otherwise get. Even without DRM and a reasonable price, an author ignores file-sharing at his own peril.
CASE STUDY: Best-selling author Paul Cohelo (The Alchemist) has given away his works on the Piratebay and seen nothing but benefits and an increased readership from this endeavour.
What I would suggest to this hypothetical author is that he move with the times, ditch the ancient "taster" marketing and adopt the Creative Commons Share-Alike license. If he wants an audience, he better start understanding that he can't do it "the old way".