Quote:
Originally Posted by bill_mchale
Yes some people will never buy, but unless steps are taken to punish those who download without buying, the numbers of people who never buy might well increase.
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As a newcomer on the board I probably should keep my mouth shut - but after reading this I can not hold back:
Why do so many people believe that it is o.k. to put the burden of making legal judgments on the
downloader. What facts do I have to decide if a specific download does not pay royalties or is not endorsed by the copyright holder?
This would mean that if Mobipocket put up a free ebook in error, the downloader would be responsible for the damage done. Did anybody here check the copyright status of a free book before downloading? Can anybody do that reasonably nowadays with all the changes in copyrights, especially in the US? It is simply not reasonable to put the legal responsibility on the downloader.
I do agree that we user have a moral responsibility. I for sure want to be able to read good books and therefore I am interested that authors can live from their work. But I strongly disagree that it is my legal responsibility to make sure that a download fulfills all legal requirements.
This is the uploaders responsibility!
Downloading should not be illegal! It doesn't make sense. And yes, I do realize that the Internet is worldwide. But heck - then the legislators should get their act together and cooperate over national boundaries. The world is changing - so should legal procedures.