Quote:
Originally Posted by bobcdy
I'm not sure that I see any difference in morality between downloading/reading an illegal ebook of a currently published ebook/paper book and borrowing a library's or friend's paper book because both are infringing on the publisher/author's or used book seller's profit from a sale. And if the ebook/paper book is not currently available for purchase from a publisher then there is absolutely no infringement on sale rights except for those of used book sellers who are not paying anything to the publisher or the author.
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The moral difference to me is that I feel the authors and publishers are entitled to set terms for making their work available just as I set the terms for mine. Maybe it's because I make my living by producing unique content (software) that I feel a strong sympathy for the authors on this one. I would be pretty peeved if someone used my code without my permission so I'd feel hypocritical doing the same to an author.
Borrowing from the library or a friend is within the terms set by the authors and publishers. There is a trade off in sales but they also get some benefit for their contribution. They get exposure to potential customers who might not have paid for the book but may learn of a new author they like by borrowing it. They also get sales to the libraries themselves. Many of the people using the library are too poor or too frugal to have ever bought their books anyway. The libraries are a public good and help increase the number of people who read. Those people may be customers in the future. It's a good long term strategy to support them. All of this is ultimately to their good even if they lost some specific sales. Plus if you look at the system as a whole, the impact is contained by the scarcity of the book as an object. I won't always find the book I want available to borrow from a friend or at the library without a long wait. If I borrow the book, that makes it unavailable to someone else. Maybe they'll decide they don't want to wait and will go out and buy it. This scarcity doesn't exist with the digital media. It's easy to instantaneously get my own copy of the book with little disincentive aside from my own feeling of violating the social contract by doing so.
Granted, I would not feel so badly about downloading a book I couldn't purchase in any format but that hasn't come up for me yet. I've always been able to at least find a used paper copy.