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News & ArtsMonday, April 5, 2010
Books On the Ethics of Book Piracy
Posted by Paul Constant on Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 12:33 PM
Buying a book or a piece of music should be regarded as a license to enjoy it on any platform. Sadly, the anachronistic conventions of bookselling and copyright law lag the technology. Thus you’ve violated the publishing company’s legal right to control the distribution of its intellectual property, but you’ve done no harm or so little as to meet my threshold of acceptability.
I don't always agree with The Ethicist, but this advice is spot-motherfucking-on.
* Unfortunately, the book was Stephen King's Under the Dome, which I read. Stephen King should write The Ethicist and ask whether it's okay to write a thousand-page book with one of the most idiotic endings ever put to paper.
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I also can't believe I read the book. I must have bought it cheap or as a gift. What Stephen King needs and has needed for a decade is an editor willing to trim pages instead of caving to King Stephen.
3
and yet the questioner could face a serious charge and financial burden if she's charged with a crime. So, while I agree with the ethicist here, is the ethicist going to pay the potential legal fees resultant from the recommended action?
4
Can I offer some different advice here?
If you want to read a book, READ THE DAMN BOOK. With paper pages between cardboard covers. All this babble about platforms and licenses and intellectual property and SHUT THE HELL UP. You all sound like morons with no idea how to spend your time and money. A physical book is still one of the most ingenious devices ever invented - effortless to use, attractive, easy to carry around - and no amount of money spent on any highly engineered gizmo will ever replace it. So for Pete's sake, put down the video game already and pick up a book. Good God.
If you want to read a book, READ THE DAMN BOOK. With paper pages between cardboard covers. All this babble about platforms and licenses and intellectual property and SHUT THE HELL UP. You all sound like morons with no idea how to spend your time and money. A physical book is still one of the most ingenious devices ever invented - effortless to use, attractive, easy to carry around - and no amount of money spent on any highly engineered gizmo will ever replace it. So for Pete's sake, put down the video game already and pick up a book. Good God.
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@4 Bound books? Those new fangled things? Give me a good, old-fashion scroll any day! Bound books will never match the tactile pleasure of unrolling a story one line at a time. Who wants to see an entire "page" of text revealed all at once?
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@4 The problem here is that Under the Dome isn't easy or as convenient to carry as an e-reader. I like real books, I like my Sony e-reader, both have their purposes. But if publishers screw up on e-books, they'll end up in the same boat as the RIAA.
PS- The thing that really annoys me about e-readers, ipads, etc. is that you have to turn them off during takeoff and landing. That's prime reading time.
PS- The thing that really annoys me about e-readers, ipads, etc. is that you have to turn them off during takeoff and landing. That's prime reading time.
9
You know Fnarf, that's a good question. I have an author that I always pick up his latest release. King isn't it, so I don't have any excuse for reading UtD, and I won't say the actual author. The weird thing is, I can't even say it's a guilty pleasure, cause I know the books suck, and every time I read these books, I swear I'll never pick another one up.
Maybe it has something to do with remembering reading the writer when I was a kid... I don't know. Sure I know the book isn't worth the cash, but I'll still spend the 20 bucks. It annoys me, but I'll do it and frankly I've spend $20 on worse.
Maybe it has something to do with remembering reading the writer when I was a kid... I don't know. Sure I know the book isn't worth the cash, but I'll still spend the 20 bucks. It annoys me, but I'll do it and frankly I've spend $20 on worse.
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As it implies that it'd have been unethical if the questioner had not purchased the hard-copy, the response is decidedly not spot-on.
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Ugh. Don't get me started on Under the Dome.
And, yes, if you own a physical copy of a book, I think it is perfectly ethical to download a pirated ebook copy. Same goes for comic books.
And, yes, if you own a physical copy of a book, I think it is perfectly ethical to download a pirated ebook copy. Same goes for comic books.
15
I just read the synopsis of "Under the Dome" on wikipedia. It was free and only took a minute. I was able to be disappointed and annoyed without reading 1000 pages, downloading an eFile or touching a kindle/iPad.
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@3 The real problem is enforcement, and determining a *just* fine. Considering how much e-book piracy goes on, and considering their proof of at least buying it in the legal format, I'm doubting a jury is going to discount those facts. The law might be clear, but the real question is of justice. If what you're doing is justified, how can you fine such activity?
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