Comments on: Baen’s Eric Flint: ‘DRM promotes piracy’ http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/baens-eric-flint-drm-promotes-piracy/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:55:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Author Pirates Self To Increase Sales « http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/baens-eric-flint-drm-promotes-piracy/comment-page-1/#comment-697474 Author Pirates Self To Increase Sales « Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:03:07 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=6230#comment-697474 [...] many times have people pointed out the example of Baen Books freely giving away ebook editions of their printed [...] [...] many times have people pointed out the example of Baen Books freely giving away ebook editions of their printed [...]

]]> By: Rob Preece http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/baens-eric-flint-drm-promotes-piracy/comment-page-1/#comment-239571 Rob Preece Mon, 26 Feb 2007 02:01:53 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=6230#comment-239571 My apologies for giving offense. The point I'm trying to make is that publishers respond to incentives. Buying books that lack DRM encourages publishers to produce more of these books. Hacking DRMed books doesn't really motivate anything except stronger DRM. I'm not sure I get your point about adherence to copyright. Are you suggesting that DRM somehow violates copyright? If so, certainly a lawsuit is the answer, no? Rob Preece Publisher, www.BooksForABuck.com My apologies for giving offense. The point I’m trying to make is that publishers respond to incentives. Buying books that lack DRM encourages publishers to produce more of these books. Hacking DRMed books doesn’t really motivate anything except stronger DRM.

I’m not sure I get your point about adherence to copyright. Are you suggesting that DRM somehow violates copyright? If so, certainly a lawsuit is the answer, no?

Rob Preece
Publisher, http://www.BooksForABuck.com

]]> By: Branko Collin http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/baens-eric-flint-drm-promotes-piracy/comment-page-1/#comment-239520 Branko Collin Mon, 26 Feb 2007 01:23:16 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=6230#comment-239520 Is all talk about rights "moralistic pseudo-libertarian bullshit"? What about copyrights? If the whining of publishers about a less than strict adherence to copyrights is not BS, then how should I differentiate between the two, oh wise one? Is all talk about rights “moralistic pseudo-libertarian bullshit”? What about copyrights? If the whining of publishers about a less than strict adherence to copyrights is not BS, then how should I differentiate between the two, oh wise one?

]]> By: Rob Preece http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/baens-eric-flint-drm-promotes-piracy/comment-page-1/#comment-238814 Rob Preece Sun, 25 Feb 2007 17:55:49 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=6230#comment-238814 Stealing and DRM I don't like DRM. I'm a reader and I like being able to read on the device I'm using. On longer trips, I use my eBookWise. But my Palm is always in my pocket--and I read on it. Some day, I might convert to that sexy new Sanyo PC and want to read on Microsoft Reader. I don't want to worry about buying a new PC and the keys getting screwed up. I want to be able to re-download my book when I'm visiting my friend and want to show him something. So, I think I'm in synch with Chris and Eric on this, for the most part. What I don't do, though (and I note that Eric doesn't either) is go on with any moralistic pseudo-libertarian BS about protecting my rights. If someone loads DRM on their product, the way to protest is--don't buy it. That's it. That's the ultimate economic protest. Buy what you like, buy from people who support your values, buy products that you can use in ways you think are appropriate. Rob Preece Publisher, www.BooksForABuck.com Stealing and DRM

I don’t like DRM. I’m a reader and I like being able to read on the device I’m using. On longer trips, I use my eBookWise. But my Palm is always in my pocket–and I read on it. Some day, I might convert to that sexy new Sanyo PC and want to read on Microsoft Reader. I don’t want to worry about buying a new PC and the keys getting screwed up. I want to be able to re-download my book when I’m visiting my friend and want to show him something.

So, I think I’m in synch with Chris and Eric on this, for the most part. What I don’t do, though (and I note that Eric doesn’t either) is go on with any moralistic pseudo-libertarian BS about protecting my rights. If someone loads DRM on their product, the way to protest is–don’t buy it. That’s it. That’s the ultimate economic protest. Buy what you like, buy from people who support your values, buy products that you can use in ways you think are appropriate.

Rob Preece
Publisher, http://www.BooksForABuck.com

]]> By: Branko Collin http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/baens-eric-flint-drm-promotes-piracy/comment-page-1/#comment-238348 Branko Collin Sun, 25 Feb 2007 13:07:58 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=6230#comment-238348 "<i>DRM provides added incentive to otherwise honest people to download material illicitly.</i>" It is rather ironic that in the previous paragraph you mock the Slashdot's editors' standards, yet in this you commit the dishonesty of calling breaking the law dishonest. Honesty is a moral term, not a legal one. (One might argue that since laws are the agreements members of a society have made with each other, and that breaking an agreements is dishonest, and that therefore breaking the law is dishonest; but one can scarcely ever have heard of modern copyright law if one were to make such an argument with a straight face.) Honest people that download in order to maintain the level of rights they had before DRM are still honest. They may be law-breakers, but at least they are honest law-breakers. There is a very simple way to test if what I say is true; look at the people you deem honest. Have they ever broken copyright law? (The answer is of course: yes.) Have they somehow become dishonest because of this? “DRM provides added incentive to otherwise honest people to download material illicitly.”

It is rather ironic that in the previous paragraph you mock the Slashdot’s editors’ standards, yet in this you commit the dishonesty of calling breaking the law dishonest. Honesty is a moral term, not a legal one. (One might argue that since laws are the agreements members of a society have made with each other, and that breaking an agreements is dishonest, and that therefore breaking the law is dishonest; but one can scarcely ever have heard of modern copyright law if one were to make such an argument with a straight face.)

Honest people that download in order to maintain the level of rights they had before DRM are still honest. They may be law-breakers, but at least they are honest law-breakers.

There is a very simple way to test if what I say is true; look at the people you deem honest. Have they ever broken copyright law? (The answer is of course: yes.) Have they somehow become dishonest because of this?

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