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Copyright Infringement of Books

Posted by kdawson on from the all-just-bits dept.

Maximum Prophet recommends a NY Times piece on the growing phenomenon of unauthorized digital versions of copyrighted books showing up online. The problem has been growing exponentially, fed in part by the popularity of reading devices such as the Kindle and the iPhone. The article features the odd photographic juxtaposition of Cory Doctorow and Ursula K. Le Guin, who take opposite views on electronic editions, authorized or not. Ms. Le Guin: "I thought, who do these people think they are? Why do they think they can violate my copyright and get away with it?" Mr. Doctorow: "I really feel like my problem isn't piracy. It's obscurity." "Doctorow, a novelist whose young adult novel 'Little Brother' spent seven weeks on the New York Times children's chapter books best-seller list last year, offers free electronic versions of his books on the same day they are published in hardcover. He believes free versions, even unauthorized ones, entice new readers."

8 of 468 comments (clear)

  1. Um, that'd be *free* beer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    FTFA:

    "The question is, how much time and energy do I want to spend chasing these guys," Stephen King wrote in an e-mail message. "And to what end? My sense is that most of them live in basements floored with carpeting remnants, living on Funions and discount beer."

    Parent poster:

    Go to Usenet

    Sounds about right.

  2. Yeah. by Fear+the+Clam · · Score: 5, Funny

    Mr. Doctorow: "I really feel like my problem isn't piracy. It's obscurity."

    There, there, Cory. People are paying attention to you now. It's okay.

  3. Shakespeare was a huge fan of peer-to-peer sharing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Back in his day they had this distributed network of his plays called Uyznettee. Only Uyznettee used horses as the transport. They would stick a small cannonball up the horse's backside for a "one." An empty horse was a "zero." Occasional errors occurred if a horse voided before the transfer was complete, but a parity horse took care of that.

  4. Re:HA! by Aardpig · · Score: 5, Funny

    A writer of trite, wanky fantasy who gets extremely litigious when someone borrows from her work as much as she borrows from others.

    --
    Tubal-Cain smokes the white owl.
  5. Re:It's called COPYright for a reason. by SwordsmanLuke · · Score: 4, Funny

    Heh, reminds me of a story I heard about Ellison.

    Ellison is notoriously short. Seems he was at a party and approached a beautiful young lady and (charming as ever) said, "What would you say to a little fuck?"
    The lady looked down at the diminutive Ellison and replied, "I'd say, `Hello, little fuck.'" 8^D

    --
    Any plan which depends on a fundamental change in human behavior is doomed from the start.
  6. Hey what's wrong with Funions and cheap beer? by Ice+Station+Zebra · · Score: 5, Funny

    Come on Stephen, your books are pretty much the equivalent.

  7. let's play a game by Eil · · Score: 4, Funny

    Nine years ago, Mr. Ellison sued Internet service providers for failing to stop a user from posting four of his stories to an online newsgroup. Since settling that suit, he has pursued more than 240 people who have posted his work to the Internet without permission. "If you put your hand in my pocket, you'll drag back six inches of bloody stump," he said.

    He seems like a reasonable guy.

  8. Re:You wouldn't believe how many ebooks I have by MaskedSlacker · · Score: 4, Funny

    Congratulations, you're the proud (you should be if you aren't) winner of this year's: MOST PEDANTIC SHIT AWARD! Your prize? A lifetime of -1 Pedantic moderation on all your /. posts.