I wasn't going to touch this topic, but there are so many things wrong with this post I had to respond.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LaughingVulcan
...If the publisher has republished it in the format you are converting to, you have invalidated the capital investment the publisher made in the technology to republish the work in said format. Maybe a fractional, tiny amount, but there nonetheless. Why should I the customer be responsible for his capital decisions? It's his job to make a profit, not mine.
In addition, the publisher has the right for the work to appear in the format they have determined it should be published in. Perhaps the company made a decision that they do not want to support lrf format for tactical business reasons. "We're in competition with {Sony, Adobe, Palm, whatever}. You, in deciding to republish our work in that format, are affecting our business interest - which is to dominate the market share. We do not want our work on the Sony Reader, and your having made it available in that format -- even for your own use -- has hurt our support of the Mobipocket format."
Back to Mr. Goodwriter.... So, he decides at first to not allow eBook publishing rights. It ain't out there on Fictionwise, Mobipocket, Connect, you name it. After a year or two of stellar sales Mr. Goodwriter decides to sell the rights for the eBook to Sony, exclusively. He makes a lot more money allowing first eBook rights to Sony.
But you're impatient. Eh, I hate Sony and want to read it in LIT format. So you crack it and convert it.
Now, six months later, Mr. Goodwriter needs to pay for his garage. So he resells the rights (because his contract with Sony allows it,) to Microsoft. Microsoft releases a LIT version. But, of course, you owned the Sony version. Mr. Goodwriter doesn't need a new garage anyway. He doesn't need your money, right?
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Let's translate this to paper. Mr. Goodwriter's first novel was released as a paperback. In order to make it fit in with my collection of leather bound books, I convert the paperback to a leather bound book. A few years later, the novel is re-released as a collectible leather bound book. According to you, I should not have done this. Instead I should run out and buy a copy. Why?
Let me give you another example. Mr. Goodwriter's first 3 novels were released in one cover. I would prefer to have them as separate books, so I split them up and rebind them. Later, the novels are released individually. According to you, I should not have done this. Instead I should run out and buy them. Why?
A third and final example. Mr. Goodwriter's novel was released as a trade paperback. It’s too big for me, so I cut it down and rebind it. Later, the novel is released as a paperback. According to you, I should not have done this. Instead I should run out buy a copy. Why?
If all of these examples are things I can reasonably do to format shift my paper book, then why can’t I format shift my ebook? The same property rights apply! I may not own the “contents” of the ebook file, but I do own the file in exactly the same way I own the paper.