chownah wrote: ↑Sat Dec 26, 2020 4:31 am
Sam Vara wrote: ↑Fri Dec 25, 2020 4:42 pm
The problem with illegal downloading is that you don't have the permission of the author,
Borrowing a book from a friend is done without the author's permission.
Listening to a song at an informal party is done without the author's permission.
Playing a song on a guitar in the privacy of your own home is done without the author's permission.
Copying what I post into your post is done without the author's permission.
chownah
If you borrow a book from a friend without the author's permission, then the author has presumably already sold the rights of the book in exchange for a share of the purchase price. If there is illegal downloading, then the author is still in expectation of a share of the price of reading it - which s/he has now been cheated out of. The same applies to listening to a song or playing it yourself if you have the requisite musical skill. In each case, the author entered into a publishing agreement which specified what should not be done with the music (i.e. the "rights" over the creation) and this, for obvious reasons, does not include playing the music at a private party or recreating it as best one can.
There is an interesting example of this in the story of how the Catholic Church attempted to keep performances of Allegri's
Miserere restricted to the Sistine Chapel, in order to preserve the mystique of this piece. Transcriptions from a limited number of scores was forbidden. A mass at the chapel was attended by the 14 year old Mozart, who was able to transcribe the pice from memory.
It would be perfectly OK, both in ethical or legal terms, for me to loan a book that had been given to me by a friend. But not if the prior gift or loan had been made subject to legal provisions, such as applies to loans to museums and galleries. Nor would it be ethical for me to disclose the contents of a book if the author had asked me not to do so as a condition of the loan. I shouldn't borrow anything from a friend if I believe that the loan or gift or sale to him/her was subject to that kind of restriction.