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I also do not condone copyright violation. But I don't think there is a separate "digital lending right" that automatically accrues to a publisher or the autho
by coderatlarge 3y ago
I also do not condone copyright violation. But I don't think there is a separate "digital lending right" that automatically accrues to a publisher or the author, beyond the purchase price of the book. A library should be able to lend out its legally acquired copy of the book, whether there's an internet or a fancy system of mirrors in the middle, or not.
- dehrmann 3y agoWhile I think that's a natural extension, it shows libraries don't scale in the digital world once the barriers to entry (driving to the library) are removed and you can change the utilization so books can be re-lent as soon as the app closes. Suddenly, you'd need 5% as many books as before, crushing the publishing model.
- coderatlarge 3y agoI honestly don’t believe that’s true. People who might check something out of the library are a very large superset of the people who might actually purchase the book. Society loses out if the browsers can’t browse, but the publishers rarely do. If anything, those browsers might one day actually purchase, if they could learn more about the item.