Quote:
Originally Posted by Pardoz
Which is what, precisely? Why is he or she not allowed to have it? What interest is being protected, or harm prevented, by the law in question?
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Among others, the interested parties are the writers, publishers and retailers, each of whom deserve to be compensated if they so choose.
Even if you as the creator want to release your work for free, copyright is there to protect you. E.g. the publisher and artist choose to give away a specific ebook for free, for a limited time, to promote the author and encourage others to buy other books by him/her. DRM in turn makes it possible for the lucky / enterprising / quick-thinking readers get the book for free, and allow the writer to charge for it later on.
Or the artist can use a Creative Commons license to forgo payment but require attribution. So even in a completely non-commercial context, copyright protects the interests of the content creator.