Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I'm sorry that you're having difficulty understanding this. It is a very simple concept.
You can take any ebook file and back it up to any storage medium. There. You have backed it up, thus refuting your claim that "DRM prevents you from being able to back it up".
Backing up has nothing whatsoever to do with being able to use it on some future device you might own in 10 years time. It really doesn't help anyone to try to conflate these two entirely separate topics.
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It's not backed up if it's not readable. An unreadable "backed up" file is a lot like "storing" a car by squishing it into a 4' cube... sure, the parts are all there, but nobody sane thinks it's still a car.
The backup problems aren't limited to a future device. A hard disc crash can result in a need to re-install the OS and other software--which makes the books not readable, even on the same device.
Ebooks are often sold with a notice that "you need to install our software to read this ebook." They are often *not* sold with a notice that says, "if we shut down our servers, which we may do at any point we decide it's financially useful, you will no longer be able to acquire the software-verification you need to read this book."
(Would love to see a lawsuit insisting that DRM removal is legal on the grounds that companies with DRM servers retain the right to shut them off at any time, and removing DRM before that point is the only way to secure access to one's data.)