Quote:
Originally Posted by Iphinome
I'll make this simple, calling something stealing and repeating it over and over doesn't make it true. It didn't make Bush a fascist it doesn't make Obama a communist and it doesn't make infringement stealing. Stealing deprives someone of the use of something. When you copy the thing still exists. To copy without permission is not legal I don't see anyone saying that it is. It can however be moral but you decide that for yourself.
I think the worst part of all this isn't the 'turfers on forums or even people ignorant of the workings and motivations behind copyright, it sure wasn't taught to me in my basic schooling. The real problem, dare I say crime, is when its the writers who talk about stealing. People's who's buisness is words using the wrong one. Larceny is not embezzlement is not infringement is not fraud is not trespassing is not counterfeiting is not bootlegging....
We have these words for a reason. For the love of the gods, learn what they mean.
Now between Ugh and Ogg, I think you're confused. Ugh has a lovely new club with a leather wrapped handle. Uhg said wow that's a cool idea it must give a much better grip, I'm going to make a club just like that. Ogg clubbed him because he felt he had an intellectual property right to leather leather grips. That's the "stealing" you're talking about and that's what the copyright cartel is doing these days.
Now the original post was on downloading an ebook of something you have in dead tree form. My reasoning is thus..
You in most places have the right to scan it yourself. Since the end result is the same if you scan or download I don't see a problem with letting someone else do the scanning for you.
The publishers have been trying to have their cake and eat it too. The refuse to sell ebooks and yet claim to sell ebooks. The offer a license and call it a sale and then take away the rights that go along with a purchase namely doing whatever you want with it. If what i have is a license I'm entitled to a copy, if my copy becomes damaged then I'm entitled to a new one, after all I payed a license fee. Now I can't just take a book from a store, I may deserve a copy but not that one. However downloading it, no one loses, I've already paid my license when I bought the dead tree book.
I know what you're thinking, I didn't pay for the format shift right? That's what they want you to think this is why they want perpetual copyright and DRM, its not so much people not buying it the first time around but with DRM they can count on making you re-buy the same book every few years the way record companies got people to buy the white album on LP 8track cassette and cd. We've entered an era, especially with books where a copy won't wear out. Music and movies they'll play with new formats, and trying to fit more and more into what they sell to get you to buy again. Books can be format shifted without loss or at worst minor repairable loss. Drm is their only chance to make you pay over and over for the same content.
|
A party may seek to protect his or her copyrights against unauthorized use by filing a civil lawsuit in federal district court. If you believe that your copyright has been infringed, consult an attorney.
In cases of willful infringement for profit, the U.S. Attorney may initiate a criminal investigation.
http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-fairuse.html
What is copyright infringement?
As a general matter, copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner.
http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-definitions.html
Question: Why are copyright holders concerned about piracy?
Answer: Free speech is protected by the U.S. Constitution but so are property rights. Copyright law provides incentives for creating. One of the incentives for creating software, music,
literature and other works is being able to reap the financial benefits as the creator. Illegitimate distribution of copies may prevent the copyright holder from benefiting from the sale of legitimate copies of the product. The theory is that significantly fewer people would buy copies from the copyright holder if other copies were available cheaper or for free.
http://www.chillingeffects.org/piracy/faq.cgi#QID143
steal /stil/ Show Spelled [steel] Show IPA ,verb, stole, sto·len, steal·ing, noun
–verb (used with object)
1. to take (the property of another or others) without permission or right, esp. secretly or by force
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/steal
I know bloody well what the words mean. Obviously you do not.
The dictionary definition of steal is to take something that isn't yours. Copyright infringement is taking the product of someone without permission. If you don't have permission to take it, it isn't yours. If you take something that isn't yours, you are stealing. Maybe the concept is too simple for you to grasp? Or are you just trying to rationalize your own thefts?
This isn't about DRM and defeating it so you can freely use what you own. This about taking something you don't already own. Backing up or replacing (including media shift) a paper book with a digital copy is legal. Getting a copy from someone who legally owns a copy and is making the copy for you to replace a damaged or destroyed copy you legally owned is probably legal (it's a gray area legally but since the copy you are replacing was legal I seriously doubt it would be a problem; I replaced a CD a friend had damaged in a car break in based on that since I knew she had owned a legal copy--I had given it to her). Getting that backup or replacement copy from a pirate is very questionable since the pirate doesn't have the right to reproduce and distribute that product, assuming the pirate even owns a copy of the book.
Btw, the passages I copied from various websites were done legally under fair use which permits me to make a copy of part of a work for educational purposes.