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Entry tags:
copyright crimes
Just some musing on piracy and stating the terms of my self-resolution to support authors more in the future.
My parents raised me to pirate literally everything I could - music, movies, videogames, software, books... These days I have a small amount of financial independence and a wish to support creative industries and especially small creators, so I don't pirate quite as much.
However, until quite recently I continued to download all my books illegally. Mostly because it was just so damn easy. With just a quick search on a certain website, I can get an epub of almost any book under the sun no matter how recently or long ago it was published, especially if it's fiction. I can do this on my phone and start reading the book within a minute of first deciding that I want to do so.
However, this is not good for the author of the book, who receives no money, and is no closer to making a living off their writing. Obviously I don't want to do this!! I recently acquired an e-reader, so library borrowing and buying books is easier than ever. As a result I've decided to lay out some rules for myself about the conditions under which I am allowed to pirate a book:
Hm... I'll add more if I think of it.
My parents raised me to pirate literally everything I could - music, movies, videogames, software, books... These days I have a small amount of financial independence and a wish to support creative industries and especially small creators, so I don't pirate quite as much.
However, until quite recently I continued to download all my books illegally. Mostly because it was just so damn easy. With just a quick search on a certain website, I can get an epub of almost any book under the sun no matter how recently or long ago it was published, especially if it's fiction. I can do this on my phone and start reading the book within a minute of first deciding that I want to do so.
However, this is not good for the author of the book, who receives no money, and is no closer to making a living off their writing. Obviously I don't want to do this!! I recently acquired an e-reader, so library borrowing and buying books is easier than ever. As a result I've decided to lay out some rules for myself about the conditions under which I am allowed to pirate a book:
- the author is dead
- the author has some awful personal opinion which they are actively attempting to spread, whether within their work or using their personal influence
- (regardless of my personal feelings of discomfort, I don't feel morally obligated to avoid the work of, or even avoid supporting, someone who is a bigot or a weirdo in their private life. Goodness knows we as a society enjoy the works of many problematic old men who wrote classic works of literature. I don't expect artists to be perfect and don't feel that I have the right to pick and choose who deserves to be paid for their creative work. When artists attempt to impact the world in the name of their bigotry, that's a different matter.)
- the book was published before 1970 (simulating a secondhand purchase)
- the book is extremely successful and widely read, I'm talking The Hunger Games or something (ditto)
Hm... I'll add more if I think of it.