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nekokami · 08-04-2007, 01:48 PM

HarryT, it may be cultural. A few years back, we had the same discussion in the US about whether one needed to purchase a cassette tape of an album one already owned in another format (vinyl, at the time), e.g. for listening in the car. The courts ruled, I believe, that we were entitled to make a "listening copy" for personal use only, to protect the original. Extending this custom to ebooks for paper books seems only natural based on our customs. I can appreciate that this doesn't seem natural to you-- as you commented in another thread, what seems natural or normal in one culture can seem quite out of place in another.

I make a point of paying for the books I read, either by buying copies or by supporting my local library through taxes (in the case of books I borrow from the library). But I would be willing to pay for an ebook version of a book I already owned in paper, only if it came with additional content of some kind, e.g. interviews with the author, interesting reviews or analyses, chapters of other books I might be interested in, etc. Otherwise, yes, if I have paid for a paper copy, I don't believe I should have to pay for a digital copy of the same book. (Realizing that publishers do incur a cost in generating digital copies, I don't think they are obligated to provide me with a digital copy just because I purchased a paper copy, but I don't believe they are entitled to prevent me from acquiring my own, either.) I think my attitude is fairly typical of those in my culture, and is supported by legal precedent in my country. But I can appreciate that your viewpoint is different.

Note that by this reasoning, audio renditions of books count as "extra content," as they involve a performance by one or more voice artists. Similarly, translations of books involve the effort of a translator. I would not assume that owning a paper book automatically entitled me to the audio book or a translation of a book, any more than I would expect to be entitled to a free copy of a movie based on a book I own. I would expect to pay for those.

08-04-2007, 01:48 PM	#144
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	HarryT, it may be cultural. A few years back, we had the same discussion in the US about whether one needed to purchase a cassette tape of an album one already owned in another format (vinyl, at the time), e.g. for listening in the car. The courts ruled, I believe, that we were entitled to make a "listening copy" for personal use only, to protect the original. Extending this custom to ebooks for paper books seems only natural based on our customs. I can appreciate that this doesn't seem natural to you-- as you commented in another thread, what seems natural or normal in one culture can seem quite out of place in another. I make a point of paying for the books I read, either by buying copies or by supporting my local library through taxes (in the case of books I borrow from the library). But I would be willing to pay for an ebook version of a book I already owned in paper, only if it came with additional content of some kind, e.g. interviews with the author, interesting reviews or analyses, chapters of other books I might be interested in, etc. Otherwise, yes, if I have paid for a paper copy, I don't believe I should have to pay for a digital copy of the same book. (Realizing that publishers do incur a cost in generating digital copies, I don't think they are obligated to provide me with a digital copy just because I purchased a paper copy, but I don't believe they are entitled to prevent me from acquiring my own, either.) I think my attitude is fairly typical of those in my culture, and is supported by legal precedent in my country. But I can appreciate that your viewpoint is different. Note that by this reasoning, audio renditions of books count as "extra content," as they involve a performance by one or more voice artists. Similarly, translations of books involve the effort of a translator. I would not assume that owning a paper book automatically entitled me to the audio book or a translation of a book, any more than I would expect to be entitled to a free copy of a movie based on a book I own. I would expect to pay for those.