What is piracy?

[QuantumIguana]

Originally Posted by Joshua.P

Sometimes I pay $20 for a new release book.

But you don't have to spend that much. You only spend that much if you have to have the hardcover when it comes out. There is no shortage of books that are cheaper. Wait a few months, and it will be out in paperback, or some other excellent book is available in paperback.

Then there's the price of the soda and popcorn at the theater. It is funny that there are people who insist they can't afford the price of a book, when they manage to afford the price of a movie ticket, soda and popcorn.

[AndrewH]

I've picked up enough free books offered in our Deals, Freebies, and Resources forum to last me the next year.

[maxiart]

Originally Posted by AndrewH

I've picked up enough free books offered in our Deals, Freebies, and Resources forum to last me the next year.

Congratulations

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by AndrewH

I've picked up enough free books offered in our Deals, Freebies, and Resources forum to last me the next year.

If the author decides to raise the price of those books tomorrow to something other than free, will you still read them even though they are now worth more to the creator?

Also, I have been thinking about the lending of books that were purchased on sale, once the book goes up in price, is it still ok to lend them, or resell them for that matter?

[AndrewH]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

If the author decides to raise the price of those books tomorrow to something other than free, will you still read them even though they are now worth more to the creator?

My past purchase of a title, for whatever price, has absolutely no bearing on any future prices the seller may set.

[maxiart]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

Also, I have been thinking about the lending of books that were purchased on sale, once the book goes up in price, is it still ok to lend them, or resell them for that matter?

Of course it is! No matter how the price may change, fact remains that you legally(whatever that means ) own it.

[Fluribus]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

If the author decides to raise the price of those books tomorrow to something other than free, will you still read them even though they are now worth more to the creator?

Also, I have been thinking about the lending of books that were purchased on sale, once the book goes up in price, is it still ok to lend them, or resell them for that matter?

Do I have to serve as the chauffeur to the CEO of Ford if I got a rebate on my car? Do I have to pay money to the landlord I had 10 years ago because the rent increased after I moved out? Does the author owe me money because the book I paid $25 for is now remaindered at $5?

Later price fluctuations do not matter. If you give me your car for $0, I can turn around and sell it for $20 million (if someone is willing to pay that much for it).

[Indio777]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I have to agree here about the film. When you pay to see the movie in a theater, you don't get to keep it for repeat viewing.

However, I recently bought three used VHS tapes of movies not available on DVD, copied two of them to DVD for my own use, then my VCR stopped working. I found an online copy of the third film (not a torrent, BTW) and downloaded it. It had been recorded from a TV broadcast.

Am I supposed to feel guilty? Who got victimized here?

Right. If I buy a ticket to see a movie on a Saturday, I should not expect to show up with the ticket stub on Sunday and be allowed to see it again without buying another ticket.

I wonder about the "wrongness" of downloading stuff that is not available for purchase. Several years ago I downloaded a TV series from the 80s that was not available for commercial purchase. When the first season was finally made available in 2008 I bought it. And have waited and waited for releases of seasons two-four .... At this point, I have given up and assume they will never be released on DVD (although I still check from time to time).

If they ever are, I will buy them. In the meantime, I have no problem watching the download.

I am an Asian film freak. Many movies were never released in the US (or were heavily edited/Americanized (fortunately less of a problem now). So I have bought fansubs or poorly Englished-subtitled versions from Asian outfits. Or I have bought European releases.

So am I a pirate? I guess so. But I have no guilt. Stop with the geographical restrictions or sitting on the original version because a (usually inferior) remake is in the works.

Same thing applies to books. I have bought hard copies overseas because they are unavailable here.

[Joshua.P]

So when you pirate its all good, but when others do it it's wrong... right.

[Indio777]

Originally Posted by Joshua.P

So when you pirate its all good, but when others do it it's wrong... right.

If a product is available for purchase in my country, but I choose to download it for "free" from a torrent site, I do not believe that is right, but what I am wondering is if a product for which I would be perfectly willing to pay for is not available in my market, is it "okay" to get it elsewhere? Or if there is a US version but is has been greatly altered (edited/different soundtrack/whatever), is it okay to purchase the "original" version elsewhere?

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Joshua.P

So when you pirate its all good, but when others do it it's wrong... right.

At this point, it's obvious that you are being deliberately obtuse.

And, yes, now I am being rude.

[Joshua.P]

Obtuse aye.... That's a new one.

I feel like this thread has got increasingly personal.

[EowynCarter]

Originally Posted by Indio777

If a product is available for purchase in my country, but I choose to download it for "free" from a torrent site, I do not believe that is right, but what I am wondering is if a product for which I would be perfectly willing to pay for is not available in my market, is it "okay" to get it elsewhere? Or if there is a US version but is has been greatly altered (edited/different soundtrack/whatever), is it okay to purchase the "original" version elsewhere?

Books not available because of geo-restriction / no longer sold.. Seams like an okey reason to pirate.

Finding the e-books too expensive is a reason not to buy the book, but not to pirate it.

[stonetools]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Books not available because of geo-restriction / no longer sold.. Seams like an okey reason to pirate.

Finding the e-books too expensive is a reason not to buy the book, but not to pirate it.

The problem here is that there is the easy solution, and the right solution. Sure , its easy to cheat the artist by downloading from a torrent. (That's what you are doing, no matter how you gussy it up). The hard way is to contact the retailer, artist, or publisher and ask for them to make it available. Once the rights holder is made aware of demand for the product, the invisible hand of the market goes to work to deliver the product, not only to you, but to a wider public.
Downloading from a torrent might be an easy private solution, but it has unsatisfactory knock on effects. For one, it might make the rights holder want to turn the security up to 11 by instituting top level encryption. That would make Apprentice Alf's tools as useless as a butter knife against diamond, but it would drive up prices and f### things up for the rest of us.
An even worse effect would be to make it unprofitable for the artist to make new product. You can't download an new Asian movie if the movie maker doesn't make it. You like Asian movies, make it so its worth their while for the movie maker to keep making them.

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by AndrewH

My past purchase of a title, for whatever price, has absolutely no bearing on any future prices the seller may set.

Why? It's not as if you are purchasing the ideas contained within the text. You are merely renting them. If you leave an ebook on your ereader for a year, and suddenly the ideas contained in the ebook become more valuable, why shouldn't you have to pay the creator more for the ideas if you ever decide to read them?

For instance, Amanda Hocking's novels

If we were "legally" able to sell ebooks we purchased, then we could have bought multiple copies of her book for 99 cents and then resold it later on when she decided to raise the price to eight dollars. In other words, by lending a book that has had its price increased you are stealing from the creator yes?

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Books not available because of geo-restriction / no longer sold.. Seams like an okey reason to pirate.

Finding the e-books too expensive is a reason not to buy the book, but not to pirate it.

At least we are getting somewhere. I like to think I live in my own geo-restriction where nothing is ever sold...