WHAT A HEEL: Steal This E-Book: New York Times Ethicist
New York Times ethicist Randy Cohen was asked by a reader whether it was “O.K.” to download a pirated version of the new Stephen King novel “Under the Dome” to his E-reader after having purchased the hardcover version. Cohen advised him that the illegal download “meet[s] my threshold of acceptability" because "[y]our subsequent downloading is akin to buying a CD, then copying it to your iPod. Buying a book or a piece of music should be regarded as a license to enjoy it on any platform.”
Using Cohen’s logic, when the novel is turned into a screenplay, you should be able to sneak into the movie – download a pirated copy, even – because there is no value-add to making the novel available in a new format.
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