View Single Post
Old 08-16-2007, 12:59 PM   #42
_Sin
Member
_Sin began at the beginning.
 
Posts: 13
Karma: 10
Join Date: Aug 2007
Device: Sony PRS-500
I have no ethical problem in stripping the DRM from my Mobipocket books, so that I can read them on my Sony Reader. I would imagine that the companies concerned would not attempt to sue me over such personal use as the publicity generated would almost certainly do them much more harm than good - and ultimately they'd just be stopping me from buying books and/or reading them.

I can understand why companies feel the need for DRM, and I acknowledge that if the tools to remove it were more widespread then there would also be more widespread copying of the books. However I wish there were some kind of co-operation at the publisher level so that someone who buys a book in one format can get a license to the same book in others. That's not going to work at a practical level in most cases though - too many people trying to make money from being a middle-man.

There is also an element, however, of companies trying to lock consumers in to a particular hard product rather than just protect themselves from copyright theft - and I think that's more ethically dubious than a consumer stripping DRM for their own use.
_Sin is offline   Reply With Quote