It’s wrong to steal, Part Whatever

[rolanni]

Very much worth a read: Juliet E. McKenna talks about copyright, piracy, and free speech.

Originally published at Sharon Lee, Writer. You can comment here or there.

Comments

Loaning an e-copy - really?

[jane-barfly.livejournal.com]

Stealing is wrong. It's also a horrible way to get more of the music/stories one loves, if the artist isn't getting paid for their work.
I very much like drm free digital stuff, because I've had too many pieces of technology go toes up with no warning. I like to keep a backup copy for my own personal use so that I know that if the hard-drive dies I can still read. Or if the purse with the palm is stolen. Or if the laptop screen doesn't light up any more. And there's always the fear that the vendor will go away - Alexandria Lit anyone?
But really - loan an e-book? I have a copy for my own use, and a backup, in case my copy dies. If I have a house fire, I'm out of luck, because I still have lots of paper and plastic, and they will go up in a lovely blaze of glory. How do you loan an e-book without cloning it?
Not all publishers treat their customers as criminals. Baen doesn't. Pinbeam doesn't. Naked reader doesn't. You can now get DRM-free mp3s from iTunes.
I use iTunes, Kindle, paper books, chapbooks, and pay at websites. I like stories and music, and bards must eat.
Stealing is still wrong. And I'm still just as offended by the publishers that treat me as a protocriminal as I am by the grocery store that thought I was shoplifting when I was twelve. I wasn't shoplifting. Boy, was I ticked. But I didn't go out and shoplift in protest of the idiots. Because, in the end, no matter how offended I was, stealing was still wrong.

Re: Loaning an e-copy - really?

[jessie-c.livejournal.com]

Confusing comment is confusing.

But really, what's so wrong with lending the memory stick with my e-book on it to my friend to read and return? How am I making a copy?