Troubleshooting and Repair pages.

upand_at_them

Joined May 15, 2010
940
That book came out in 2020. Doesn't seem right that people are accessing a free scanned copy when the author put all that hard work into it. I can understand out-of-print, decades-old books...But only two years old? Has the author approved that free scanned copy? Has the publisher? Who wants to put all the work into writing a book anymore when people are ripping it off left and right? That book can be purchased from online sources. Buy it, don't steal it.
 

ericgibbs

Joined Jan 29, 2010
18,766
Hi up'
It is highly unlikely that the Internet Archive would handle illegal documentation.

Do you have any evidence to support your assumption.?

E
@bertus
 

upand_at_them

Joined May 15, 2010
940
Internet Archive is being sued by major publishers. It's called copyright infringement. Too many people are willing to jump on the bandwagon of free books without realizing that they're reducing the incentive for authors to create books in the first place.
 

upand_at_them

Joined May 15, 2010
940
AAC's own User Agreement, under Copyrighted Material:

"Please do not make requests for, or post links to, material that otherwise contravenes the conditions of the original or subsequent author's copyright. All instances of such requests will be met firstly with a warning, and secondly with a ban. If you are in doubt raise the issue with a Moderator or Administrator."
 

Ya’akov

Joined Jan 27, 2019
9,074
That book came out in 2020. Doesn't seem right that people are accessing a free scanned copy when the author put all that hard work into it. I can understand out-of-print, decades-old books...But only two years old? Has the author approved that free scanned copy? Has the publisher? Who wants to put all the work into writing a book anymore when people are ripping it off left and right? That book can be purchased from online sources. Buy it, don't steal it.
Did you note that the IA owns a physical book for each of the titles they “loan”, like a library? The controversial part was their decision to loan more than one digital copy in a temporary response to the pandemic.

I would have to see proof that authors are actually being harmed by the normal policy which is just like a physical library. If it was the case, why would a physical libarry not have the same problem?

So as far as any moral dilemma concerning the Open LIbrary, I really have none. As an aside, I have actually written books and depended on collecting royalties, so I have personal experience of this. My surmise is that the overwhelming majority, if not almost all cases, of using IA OL is by people who could not, or would not purchase the book anyway so the author is not harmed.

One more thing: when I wrote books royalties on technical titles were potentially substantial but changes in the industry and how contracts are written mean the author can’t depend on royalties as the income from the book because they are dependent on the publisher’s ability and willingness to promote and sell the book to resellers, and the possible impact of the “reserve against returns“ clause that charge the author some amount if books are unsold.

I got out of the business because of these things. Self publishing is a much better route now which was not practical at the time I was writing. I know several authors who have done very well by making the book available free and in print. People who would not bootleg the book buy a copy, some after downloading it for free while those who wouldn’t buy it anyway have no impact on income. And there is the part I am not convinced of, the claim that digital copies hav a substantial impact on income for the author or publisher.
 
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