Re: Digest Number 3638

On Mar 11, 2010, at 5:56 AM, [email protected] wrote:

>
> ________________________________________________________________________
> 1f. Re: What kinds of Books are pirated and made into EBooks?
>    Posted by: "Erica Frank" [email protected] elfwreck
>    Date: Wed Mar 10, 2010 6:47 pm ((PST))
>
snip:
>
> The moral issue of who "deserves" to read a book is very different  
> from the moral issue of theft.
>

While I see the legalistic argument that copyright violation isn't  
theft, I beg to differ with your description of control of copyright  
as a "moral issue of who 'deserves' to read a book . . . ." There's  
absolutely no implication of entitlement, or reward. It's about who  
deserves to CONTROL the fruit of someone's labor: the creator or the  
user.

In every other area of human endeavor, the creator, laborer or  
craftsman gets to control whether or not, and to whom, he or she will  
sell the fruits of their labor. There are limitations we have imposed,  
where this right and other rights or societal needs collide, but they  
are few.

In this case, we are limiting the length of that control. Personally,  
if the Berne Convention weren't an issue, I believe that US copyright  
should be reduced to something like 10 years after publication or  
creation, with the right to extend two or three times. But we no  
longer have the right to change our law unilaterally. We made a pact  
with other countries, and now, we're more or less stuck.

> There is no retail price for the Harry Potter ebooks.

I recognize (and share!) the frustration when you can't find an e- 
version of a book you want. But I fail to see how that leads to a  
feeling that you have a RIGHT to get an e-version. If a publisher or  
author refuses to issue a rack sized paperback of  a title you want,  
and will only issue it as a hardback, would you believe that you have  
the right to issue one yourself? It's an obvious misappropriation.

If an author writes a sequel to a book that you loved, and then  
refuses to release it, would you have the right to break into their  
computer or their house, steal a copy and make it available? Of course  
not.

If an author refuses to turn a book into a movie, should we have the  
right to make that movie regardless of their wishes? What if we want  
to change it along the way, making what we consider to be improvements?

Why should we say that the author has no right to control the use of  
their creation?\


> There are other approaches besides "thwart it": provide incentives  
> not to do it. Provide content in formats the public wants, at prices  
> they're willing to pay, and copyright infringement will stop being a
> problem.


I tend to agree with you, for fiction and trade non-fiction,  but I  
may be indulging in hopeless optimism. For what I call "need to know"  
material -- I disagree strongly. High priced (because the costs of  
developing the material, and preparing the presentation, are so steep)  
information needs to be fenced in.

I'm reminding of the specious arguments that textbooks are grossly  
over-priced because the printing cost is such a small fraction of  
their list price. Anyone who has been here a while can drive a truck  
through the holes in that one.



Marion Gropen
Gropen Associates, Inc.
By-The-Question Consulting,  Tools for Publishers, & Classes
www.GropenAssoc.com
Her blog: www.GropenAssoc.com/blog





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