[LaughingVulcan]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I was actually quoting you, LV. You said in your previous post:



I can appreciate that you might like an eBook; what I was wondering is why you felt that you had (in your own words) a right to an e-Book? I too very much prefer to read eBooks to paper books these days, but I don't expect the publisher to provide me with one free of charge.

Perhaps I should clarify: I think a person should have the right to be in possession of an eCopy of a bound book he or she has purchased at retail. That may entail satisfying the holder(s) of copyright. I didn't mean to imply that the publisher has to publish an eBook; it would be enough to allow possession of an eCopy without fear of some RIAA-like entity coming after the possessor.

In other threads I said I wouldn't mind paying a buck or two for secure format conversion (to another secure format,) if the method was legal. I also wouldn't mind paying a buck or two to the copyright holder to simply receive an acknowledgment that I may be in possession of an eCopy of said work for personal use. I don't think that's really workable, but it's one method.

What I'm getting at is that I don't think it should be a civil or criminal offense to have an eCopy of a favorite work that the publisher and author have already received compensation for. While I acknowledge you may disagree with me, and that's OK, I can't see any justification in the law for this currently. Maybe nobody will come after the eBook enthusiast, but I'd rather see the ability enshrined as the DAT makers or Betamax home tapers have protection.

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Why do you keep bringing up their desire to make a profit? It is irrelevant here. Why are you suggesting that I have an obligation to guarantee them a profit?

Because they deserve to be paid for their work. "Profit" is a matter of revenue exceeding cost. They (a publisher, author, or other copyright holder) can make more money than they spend or go bankrupt. They can offer their work at no cost whatsoever or charge one million dollars a copy. Hey, wanna buy my novel? I only have to sell one...

Me, I appreciate the work that published authors have to go through to bring me a bit of entertainment and/or knowledge.

But it really comes down to the simple fact that the copyright holder has the right to choose when, where, and how a work is published. Not you or I.

Would I like to have the ability to get all of my eReader books over to my Reader? Sure! But I don't want the publishing industry (or my favorite authors) to face financial distress in so doing, because the industry is the way it has been. The entertainment industry in general has long had the ability to discriminate in how a work is published, by virtue of specifying which copy rights are granted in a particular contract. It isn't fit that this should change because copying just became immensely easier.

Can the industry economics change? Of course it can. It is. But the moral and legal answer, to me, isn't "Hey, let me retype that whole novel up and load it in. The author doesn't need my money. The author doesn't need all his or her rights as afforded by copyright. The poor beggar should be grateful for whatever crust I deem is appropriate."

I disagree on the point of format choice. I think the publisher and author have just as much right to pick the electronic format as the paper format. They can choose between Sony, Mobipocket, and MSReader just like they can choose between hardback, trade and mass market paperback.

But once they choose a format and publish the content, they have released it into the wild. They have no right to tell me what I can and cannot do to a pbook. What I can do to the pbook is limited by copyright law, not the publisher. I think it's logical to extend existing law about your rights over a pbook to an ebook.

OK, but the publisher and author do have the choice about the paper format. Can they tell you "what to do" with the pbook? Well, like I've said, they can say you cannot make a photocopy of your book.

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm sure that it is accepted as bring OK for private use. The original question (quite a way back now) was whether one could change the format of an eBook in order to re-sell it to someone. That's what I'm saying you can't do, any more than you can, say, buy a commercial music CD, copy it to cassette, and then sell someone that cassette.

Format shifting for private use I have absolutely no issues with whatsoever. From a purely practical viewpoint, any laws "prohibiting" it would be completely unenforcable.

It could well be considered a trifle by the law....
True, that was the question that sparked this off. But the thread question is "When is Sony's DRM going to be broken?" And the DMCA made breaking DRM very different the issue of from converting a file format.



As to "Fair Use" and audio recordings: Audio recordings are specifically addressed in a couple of different places in Title 17. They are recognized as being distinct from other forms of media. Is there a parallel? Possibly. But I would bet the store on it.

Whether Fair Use applies as a defense to infringement is also very dependent upon the individual case involved. What is and isn't fair use changes almost like the wind. I'm not sure whether or not it would constitute a defense against format conversion or not. It won't against violating DRM, IMVHO. But I'm glad that I'm not a lawyer, on either side.