Quote:
Originally Posted by Pardoz
I don't get why people think that copying a book is really any different than buying a used copy. It's still a lost sale for the publisher, and you still get to experience the content without paying the author.
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Because a used copy means the original owner no longer has a copy.
With an e-book, one can strip the DRM, keep their copy and pass it on too as many people as they like. One used copy can only go to so many people before someone keeps it personally, tosses it in the trash etc.
For ebook I think we DO need a system where someone can sell or give away their ebook license that removes it form their machine(s) and transfers it to someone else.
The issue is to keep a person from buying an e-book, stripping DRM and throwing it on a torrent site where it gets to thousands of people as people download it, throw it on their own torrent sites, send it to friends etc.
If you buy something, you should be able to loan it, sell it, give it away etc. But you can't be able to loan it, sell it, or give it away while keeping a copy for yourself. That's the issue that you don't get with a physical book. If I loan a physical book, I don't have a copy while a friend is borrowing it. If I sell it or give it away, it's gone and I have to buy another one if I want it in the future. That's the way e-books should be too--but it's much harder to ensure/enforce.