Do you pirate books and why?

[RainingLemur]

I've done it before. Some recently to get an ebook copy of physical books I already own. And, there's been a few where I nabbed a sequel in a series I liked, but there wasn't a normal preview anywhere, and ultimately bought the book(s) after reading a bit into them.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by HarryT

There would be only one set of circumstances in which I'd consider it ethically justifiable to pirate a book:

1. If no commercial eBook was available.

and:

2. I'd bought the paper book.

In those circumstances, I'd have no qualms about downloading a pirated eBook. However, if a commercial eBook did then become commercially available, I'd buy it.

So I'd have to answer "on occasions". Very rare occasions.

Yeah! What he said.

[Redcard]

In the US, the law makes no distinction between downloading off a file sharing site, and stripping DRM from an already purchased ebook so you can transfer it between readers.

Since the law makes no distinction between those acts, I have taken it upon myself to obtain ebook copies of books I already have legally purchased. If I'm going to be a criminal , I might as well make it easier to read my books.

No on the piracy front, but I'm not going to pretend that it's for altruistic reasons.

Every last book of my childhood was second hand, so I never really got into reading the latest titles. So after the post-gadget buying binge I quickly settled back down into my old habits of reading older stuff, albeit in a different way. These days, I find myself reading a lot more public domain works because it ain't exactly easy to find free ebook stuffed into boxes on the curbside or at thrift stores (etc.). I also find myself using the library a lot more, for more modern reads, simply so that I don't pick up too many Victorian mannerisms.

Originally Posted by Redcard

In the US, the law makes no distinction between downloading off a file sharing site, and stripping DRM from an already purchased ebook so you can transfer it between readers.

Good point. I have done that (when I went from Kindle to Kobo) so I'm probably a pirate in the legal definition. Granted, it is not illegal to strip DRM in Canada at the moment so I'm not really certain how things work. (The problem with computers is that they are always making copies of data.)

Originally Posted by HarryT

There would be only one set of circumstances in which I'd consider it ethically justifiable to pirate a book:

1. If no commercial eBook was available.

and:

2. I'd bought the paper book.

In those circumstances, I'd have no qualms about downloading a pirated eBook. However, if a commercial eBook did then become commercially available, I'd buy it.

So I'd have to answer "on occasions". Very rare occasions.

I was going to answer no, but then read this. I have for my own use and benefit converted paperbooks I own to ebook format. It's a lot of effort and I have only done it for a few books that I like so much and got back to read again so often that it was worth my while. Honestly if I had known of a source where I could have downloaded these book already in some sort of digital form I would have. I should note that every book I have done this for was in the 'orphan' category; still in copyright but unlikely to appear as a legitimate ebook anytime soon.

[Sydney's Mom]

I pirated Under the Dome, justifying it because Stephen King had announced he was windowing the ebook to give independent bookstores a chance. We all know how that turned out - Amazon and Walmart got into a price war, and I was finally able to get the ebook for just over $7. I never read the pirated verion (and I still haven't read my legitimate ebook version!)

Recently, I found that 11/22/63 wasn't available in ebook form at the library. I thought long and hard about getting it on the darknet, using the rationalization that the publisher was being greedy and acting like a Luddite. But the ebook was available for purchase. So, ultimately, I was only thinking of getting the book illegally because I didn't want to pay $16.99 for it. I decided that was just plain theft, and borrowed the hardback from the library. I read it over the weekend, so carting the huge book around in my briefcase was not an issue.

I feel very strongly that ebooks should be available at libraries, because there are people who cannot afford to buy books. I might be able to excuse someone like that for pirating an ebook, but if they can afford a computer and an ebook reader, they should not be pirating.

[Ninjalawyer]

I don't think anyone can really find too much fault with the sort of format shifting most people probably do, or even pirating a book that isn't available in your region and then buying it when it does become available. As long as the author is getting compensated for his/her work, great.

Although I guess this gets back a little bit to the entitlement thread; why do we feel that buying a book in one format entitles us to another?

[Kumabjorn]

I voted no because I didn't think removing DRM and pirating where equivalents. Yes, I have removed some DRM because I preferred to read a Kindle book on a Sony PRS-350 (fits in my pocket). I have paid for the book already, just preferred to read it on a different device. However, I did download a PDF of Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" and read it on the screen. The only book I have ever read on the computer. Since this was before I had any e-Reader and since it hasn't been repeated, I didn't think "once in a while" was applicable.
Would I ever consider downloading a pirated book again? I'm not sure. If it is not available legally and the author is deceased, I'd probably be able to discuss it with my moral dark side. As it gets closer to a rendezvous with a coffin, I'd probably be easier to convince.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by HarryT

There would be only one set of circumstances in which I'd consider it ethically justifiable to pirate a book:

1. If no commercial eBook was available.

and:

2. I'd bought the paper book.

In those circumstances, I'd have no qualms about downloading a pirated eBook. However, if a commercial eBook did then become commercially available, I'd buy it.

So I'd have to answer "on occasions". Very rare occasions.

Exactly right. Yes, but only when I already owned the book and there was no eBook version available. (In several cases, I already owned a pBook and an audio book version of it! The Patrick O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin series comes to mind.)

[BenBanned]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

I feel very strongly that ebooks should be available at libraries, because there are people who cannot afford to buy books. I might be able to excuse someone like that for pirating an ebook, but if they can afford a computer and an ebook reader, they should not be pirating.

More ethics and less monetary, I refuse to pay for something I can't physicaly hold. Why would I pay the same price for something that has almost no value?
To me a book is worth money because it is on paper. My shelves hold books that mean something to me, I glance at the spines and am flooded with memories, many will be passed on to my children. When I finish reading an ebook it simply no longer exists to me.
Can I not look at art without purchasing it?

[spindlegirl]

000000000000000

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by BenBanned

More ethics and less monetary, I refuse to pay for something I can't physicaly hold. Why would I pay the same price for something that has almost no value?
To me a book is worth money because it is on paper. My shelves hold books that mean something to me, I glance at the spines and am flooded with memories, many will be passed on to my children. When I finish reading an ebook it simply no longer exists to me.
Can I not look at art without purchasing it?

No, this isn't art. In the case of art you view, it has been purchased already, and made available for viewing, that having been part and parcel of the artists "contract" with the purchaser. In the case of a novel, you have no right to read a copy of someone else's bought version. (You do, IMHO as an author, have a right to read that EXACT version, giving the reader who paid for a book thei right to lend you a book, provided they no longer have access to the book and no copies are made of the original.)

[Redcard]

I'll also say this.

The more corporations and content owners make it impossible for honest users to use their product, the more they will see two reactions from me as a customer. One, I will content shift their product into a form that does not default to me as a criminal instead of me as a customer. Two, I will cease to use their products in search of freer forms, which means that authors like Cory Doctorow and their ideas will get my money, and authors that work with companies that make my life harder will not get my money.

[RHWright]

Originally Posted by HarryT

There would be only one set of circumstances in which I'd consider it ethically justifiable to pirate a book:

1. If no commercial eBook was available.

and:

2. I'd bought the paper book.

In those circumstances, I'd have no qualms about downloading a pirated eBook. However, if a commercial eBook did then become commercially available, I'd buy it.

So I'd have to answer "on occasions". Very rare occasions.

Pretty much my ethical position. I've done this on one occasion. I don't make a practice of hunting for books I already have as a paper book. Plenty of ebooks already.