Confessions of a Book Pirate

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by calvin-c

Hmm, so if I *can* steal your car it's OK to do so?

There really needs to be a new internet "law" that establishes that whenever someone equates copying digital media with stealing a car, all possibility of productive conversation has passed...

[ShellShock]

I don't understand the justification for copyright extending beyond the death of the author, and I think there is a moral argument for being able to copy books where the author is no longer alive to be deprived of any royalties. It is not clear to me why an author's descendants should benefit from the sale of works which they had no hand in producing.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by ardeegee

There really needs to be a new internet "law" that establishes that whenever someone equates copying digital media with stealing a car, all possibility of productive conversation has passed...

No there needs to be a new internet "law" that establishes that whenever someone claims copying copyrighted materials without authorization is simply copying a file, all possibility of productive conservation has passed....

[weateallthepies]

It doesn't really matter if you think it is right or wrong or want to call it theft or want to argue over the same points that always crop up in this conversation. The fact is it's going to happen and there is little that can be done to stop it, so publishers need to work out how they can compete against piracy.

The internet simply can't be policed in the way copyright holders would like.

Make ebook buying easy, cheap, good quality and hassle free and you'll get the vast majority of people who are happy to pay for a good service and don't have to go hunting around torrent and rapidshare sites for badly formatted files.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by ShellShock

I don't understand the justification for copyright extending beyond the death of the author, and I think there is a moral argument for being able to copy books where the author is no longer alive to be deprived of any royalties. It is not clear to me why an author's descendants should benefit from the sale of works which they had no hand in producing.

Because we'd like to encourage people to publish, even late in life, and if their heirs can't inherit those rights, why should someone on his deathbed bother publishing his memoirs? Why put his (hypothetically beloved) family through whatever media attention might result from them, if they won't get anything but stress from it?

Copyright is an *incentive* to produce & share creative/artistic/scientific content. Allowing inheritance of copyright is supposed to provide some incentive to publish in a case where there's little to no possibility of personal gain.

(That said, I want copyright lengths to go back to no more than a few decades, regardless of whether the author is alive.)

[Greg Anos]

Glad to see your post, Trenien.

Why do scanners exist? It's a heck of a lot of work, 2 to 5 days per book if it's done right. The reason is lack of product. If you offer somebody a book at $5-$10 dollars (without DRM), only an idiot would scan it then. But how many books 30+ years old are out there to be bought as e-books? 1 in 10? 1 in 100? But they're still in copyright, so you're a crook of you scan, and you'll die of old age before either a legitimate e-copy, or P.D. will ever come...

And it's not like you actually depriving authors of compensation when there is no in-print version out there, anyway.

[Ubikzz]

I do not and never will recognise "Intellectual Property". The term "intellectual property" is a political coined term with the thought behind it that if it is being used by everybody and everywhere, people will start to link the two words together as being a truth. No mater how hard one tries, it is not true. Nobody can own an idea, a thought, a vision, ... The fact of being the first to express such intangible things does not make one the owner.

I do not give away the right to others to disallow me to have the same intangible brain processes as any other person. This is inherent in being human.

The only right a person has as such is not to express their ideas, words, ...

Every derived logic from this perceived ownership is thus void. Especially the right to financial compensation (as one of the many derivatives).


This misconception is a relative new thing: books, music, paintings have been copied (which leaves the original still to its owner) throughout the centuries but still painters, writers, musicians have been thriving (and they are even perceived as being creators of superior art), think of Breughel, Mozart, Homer and all alike.


On a personal note: this does not mean I do not give tokens of recognition (i.e. money), it only means that either I buy physical things (CD, book, painting) or I buy (pay for) the ease of usage (ebooks, mp3, JPG), but as I pay for ease of usage, the worth of it in my value system has usually a maximum of 2,- EUR.

[asjogren]

"Make ebook buying easy, cheap, good quality and hassle free and you'll get the vast majority of people who are happy to pay for a good service"

YES!!!

An eBook that I can neither lend nor resell has no more value to me than a USED paperback of the same title. And IF I had the rights to lend and resell, it would have no more value to me than a NEW paperback of the same title.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by calvin-c

Theft is the taking of property without the owner's permission. It seems to me that copyright law says that the right to reproduce a book is the property of the author. It doesn't matter whether you leave the owner a copy or not, the act of theft lies in *you* taking the copy. Without permission, of course.

Yes. Exactly.

[ShellShock]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

Because we'd like to encourage people to publish, even late in life, and if their heirs can't inherit those rights, why should someone on his deathbed bother publishing his memoirs? Why put his (hypothetically beloved) family through whatever media attention might result from them, if they won't get anything but stress from it?

Copyright is an *incentive* to produce & share creative/artistic/scientific content. Allowing inheritance of copyright is supposed to provide some incentive to publish in a case where there's little to no possibility of personal gain.

(That said, I want copyright lengths to go back to no more than a few decades, regardless of whether the author is alive.)

Yes I agree; 70 years after death is far too long. Author's death or 30 years after original publication, which ever is later, seems more appropriate to me.

[Kali Yuga]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

How many books 30+ years old are out there to be bought as e-books? 1 in 10? 1 in 100? But they're still in copyright, so you're a crook of you scan, and you'll die of old age before either a legitimate e-copy, or P.D. will ever come...

Actually, I expect that once the contract issues are resolved, quite a few older books will get converted. Consider how many out-of-print, but in-copyright, books were snagged in the Google Scan dragnet. Publishers are also generally aware of the "long tail" effect. Not to mention that even a brand-new ebook service like B&N's will have about 200,000 titles -- a fraction of what's available in paper, but still 5x what you get at a typical book superstore.

Also, you're only a crook if you share it, not just if you scan it. AFAIK in most territories, you can scan your own books for your own purposes (iirc UK is the only exception I know of in this regard).

[Daithi]

Originally Posted by calvin-c

Theft is the taking of property without the owner's permission. It seems to me that copyright law says that the right to reproduce a book is the property of the author.

The first statement I agree with, but I'm not so sure about the second. Does copyright law say "the right to reproduce a book is the property of the author" or does it say "the right to reproduce a book is a right granted by the govenment to the author".

I am coming to the conclusion that violation of copyright is a breach of a government granted monopoly, but it isn't "theft". Theft and copyright violations are distinct infractions, just as vandalism may deprive someone of property but is not theft.

[Guns4Hire]

Originally Posted by weateallthepies

It doesn't really matter if you think it is right or wrong or want to call it theft or want to argue over the same points that always crop up in this conversation. The fact is it's going to happen and there is little that can be done to stop it, so publishers need to work out how they can compete against piracy.

The internet simply can't be policed in the way copyright holders would like.

Make ebook buying easy, cheap, good quality and hassle free and you'll get the vast majority of people who are happy to pay for a good service and don't have to go hunting around torrent and rapidshare sites for badly formatted files.

Easily the most realistic post on the subject.

[Randolphlalonde]

Here are the facts:

The law as it has been interpreted for laymen by legal professionals simply states: Copyright the exclusive right to make copies, license, and otherwise exploit a literary, musical, or artistic work, whether printed, audio, video, etc.: works granted such right by law on or after January 1, 1978, are protected for the lifetime of the author or creator and for a period of 50 years after his or her death.

That means what I've copyrighted is mine. By law that body of work has been made into an object, otherwise termed as "intellectual property". There are no legal differences stipulated for digital content where eBooks are concerned. This is the law in the US, Canada, the UK and elsewhere. There is no disputing this outside of a court of law.

I have the right to decide how and where my work is distributed until I assign rights to another party (publisher, distributor, etc...).

Anyone who infringes upon that law is subject to punishment by the legal system of their country and in other countries with consideration to international treaties. Individuals who break copyrights may be imprisoned, fined by the state and individuals who file claims in pursuit of compensation.

---

The more personal side:

My eBooks pay the rent. If people didn't pay a fair price for them, then I would have to seek other employment and I wouldn't have time to write 3-5 books a year. I _may_ be able to get 1 out in 12 months because I'd be working for someone else.

In my case, the illegal distribution of eBooks wouldn't help one bit. People don't buy my books in print, they're not in stores, they buy eBooks. I don't charge much for my eBooks, certainly not unfair prices (everything is under $10.00 and the non-DRM versions on Smashwords are all $4.99 or less, I even have two free books there). Buying those books keeps me in spam and cheesy macaroni so I can write more books, benefiting my readers. They know that, and they don't mind paying the cover. In a few hundred emails I've never had anyone complain about price.

So, there are the legal and personal facts that I believe in. Don't bother arguing on the legal points with me, I've already done my homework on this, consulted a lawyer and could write a book on the topic. I don't, because it would be really, REALLY boring and I don't want to become known as "That Copyright Guy". I'd rather be known as "That EBook Writer" for entertaining people who prefer to read books on a screen, instead of a dead tree.

If you're really looking for something free, you can grab one of the free titles I've posted on Smashwords. You can even pretend you're stealing it.

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by Randolphlalonde

Here are the facts:

The law as it has been interpreted for laymen by legal professionals simply states: Copyright the exclusive right to make copies, license, and otherwise exploit a literary, musical, or artistic work, whether printed, audio, video, etc.: works granted such right by law on or after January 1, 1978, are protected for the lifetime of the author or creator and for a period of 50 years after his or her death.

That means what I've copyrighted is mine. By law that body of work has been made into an object, otherwise termed as "intellectual property". There are no legal differences stipulated for digital content where eBooks are concerned. This is the law in the US, Canada, the UK and elsewhere. There is no disputing this outside of a court of law.

I have the right to decide how and where my work is distributed until I assign rights to another party (publisher, distributor, etc...).

Anyone who infringes upon that law is subject to punishment by the legal system of their country and in other countries with consideration to international treaties. Individuals who break copyrights may be imprisoned, fined by the state and individuals who file claims in pursuit of compensation.

---

The more personal side:

My eBooks pay the rent. If people didn't pay a fair price for them, then I would have to seek other employment and I wouldn't have time to write 3-5 books a year. I _may_ be able to get 1 out in 12 months because I'd be working for someone else.

In my case, the illegal distribution of eBooks wouldn't help one bit. People don't buy my books in print, they're not in stores, they buy eBooks. I don't charge much for my eBooks, certainly not unfair prices (everything is under $10.00 and the non-DRM versions on Smashwords are all $4.99 or less, I even have two free books there). Buying those books keeps me in spam and cheesy macaroni so I can write more books, benefiting my readers. They know that, and they don't mind paying the cover. In a few hundred emails I've never had anyone complain about price.

So, there are the legal and personal facts that I believe in. Don't bother arguing on the legal points with me, I've already done my homework on this, consulted a lawyer and could write a book on the topic. I don't, because it would be really, REALLY boring and I don't want to become known as "That Copyright Guy". I'd rather be known as "That EBook Writer" for entertaining people who prefer to read books on a screen, instead of a dead tree.

If you're really looking for something free, you can grab one of the free titles I've posted on Smashwords. You can even pretend you're stealing it.

*sigh*

You may as well have just written 'Please don't read my works because I consider most of you thieves. Please, please, target audience, please note my name and make sure that you never, ever read my stuff again.' You may have consulted lawyers, you may be able to write a thousand books on the subject, but you really don't get what's happening at all.