[Karellen]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Depends on where you live. For me, I remove DRM and format shift. Since I am not distributing those ebooks to other people there is no copyright infringement which is the usual definition of ebook piracy. At most, I am violating the license terms which is a civil matter and subject to the usual legal quibbling about the validity of shrinkwrap licenses.

This is a link to the Australian Law Reform Commission which is a govt department that looks at ways laws can be reformed to meet current needs. They are currently reviewing the Copyright Act. I point to it as it has wording that is easier to read, rather than trying to wade through an Act. This is, in brief, the current exceptions to copyright for personal use... https://www.alrc.gov.au/publication/...current-law-2/
sections 9.10, 9.11 and 9.12 are relevant.
In my country, your process is an infringement...
Further, the exception for books, newspapers and periodicals only allows users to make one copy in each format, and storing content in the cloud may require multiple copies

Originally Posted by DNSB

If I take a physical book, slice the spine off, scan the pages and convert the results of the scan into an ebook, that would be in a very iffy legal situation here since I have destroyed the original book to create the ebook. Unless I distribute the ebook, several court decisions here have stated such actions are allowable.

Here, as long as the original remains in possession (not sure about what state it needs to be in), there is no infringement. Lose the pbook, then you need to delete any digital versions.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The reason I asked was in case the book was freely available to download so we could take a look at it. I did not ask because I suspected piracy.

Haha, I don't believe it for a second. It is your "thing". You hunt for copies then when you can't find them, you yell fire.

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Most of the books I want to read aren't available as an e-book, or like your case the price differential is small - even higher. So I mainly read p-books, which I buy from GleeBooks. I don't keep most of what I buy, either give it to someone I think will appreciate, or trade it at Urchin Books.

Gleebooks and Urchin are local independent bricks and mortar bookshops.

BR

Yes, I have a few like that as well. When family members donated all their unwanted books, the ones I kept were no longer in print or available online. The unwanted ones I then on-donated to the local church run second-hand bookshop.

Haven't heard of those two bookshops here in Melbourne. But most second hand bookshops are independent, like the one closest to me which has been an absolutely fantastic resource the last few years, enabling me to complete collections I had lost track of over the years.