"An Ethical Question Regarding Ebooks"

Timoleon · 11-29-2008, 10:46 PM

Another interesting discussion going on over at slashdot, with 157 replies so far...

The header quote from Slashdot:

"Suppose there is a book that you want to read on your ebook reader, but it is out of print (so even if you purchase the dead-tree version of the book used, the author won't receive any royalties) and the publisher has refused to make it available as an ebook. You can buy it from Amazon as a used book, but that isn't your preferred medium. It is available on the internet as a pirated etext, however. This blog post outlines a few possibilities, and then asks, 'What is the right thing to do? And why?' I'm also curious if the answers change depending on whether you are a Baby Boomer, or a Gen X, Gen Y, etc. — I've noticed that attitudes around copyright seem to change depending on whether someone is a college student or a recent college graduate, versus someone who can remember a time when the Internet did not exist."

The original article is here: (Thoughts By Ted)
http://thunk.org/tytso/blog/2008/11/...olving-ebooks/

Tim

HarryT · 11-30-2008, 05:32 AM

This question has been discussed many, many times, here. Let's not rake it all up again, please

.

Greg Anos · 11-30-2008, 09:05 AM

Besides, much of this problem is going to be solved by the Google/Author's Guild settlement, giving a source for downloading e-books with royalties paid in escrow for the author.

Timoleon · 11-30-2008, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

This question has been discussed many, many times, here. Let's not rake it all up again, please

.

Sorry, Harry!

I did find the comments that I read, both at Slashdot and at the author's original site, very thought-provoking though --- and on-topic for MobileRead denizens.

Tim

11-29-2008, 10:46 PM	#1
Timoleon Time Enough at Last Posts: 387 Karma: 1151316 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: New England Device: iPad 3, iPhone 5, Kindle 3, Fire, Sony PRS-350	"An Ethical Question Regarding Ebooks" Another interesting discussion going on over at slashdot, with 157 replies so far... The header quote from Slashdot: "Suppose there is a book that you want to read on your ebook reader, but it is out of print (so even if you purchase the dead-tree version of the book used, the author won't receive any royalties) and the publisher has refused to make it available as an ebook. You can buy it from Amazon as a used book, but that isn't your preferred medium. It is available on the internet as a pirated etext, however. This blog post outlines a few possibilities, and then asks, 'What is the right thing to do? And why?' I'm also curious if the answers change depending on whether you are a Baby Boomer, or a Gen X, Gen Y, etc. — I've noticed that attitudes around copyright seem to change depending on whether someone is a college student or a recent college graduate, versus someone who can remember a time when the Internet did not exist." The original article is here: (Thoughts By Ted) http://thunk.org/tytso/blog/2008/11/...olving-ebooks/ Tim Last edited by Timoleon; 11-29-2008 at 10:53 PM.

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11-30-2008, 05:32 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	This question has been discussed many, many times, here. Let's not rake it all up again, please .

11-30-2008, 09:05 AM	#3
Greg Anos Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,248 Karma: 35000000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Pocketbook	Besides, much of this problem is going to be solved by the Google/Author's Guild settlement, giving a source for downloading e-books with royalties paid in escrow for the author.