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sirbruce t1_jd3wlf3 wrote

Reply to comment by SomethingMatter in The Internet Archive is defending its digital library in court today by OutlandishnessOk2452

> They aren't distributing digital copies, they are loaning the copy that they have out.

Incorrect. They have no digital copy that they paid to "loan out". They have a physical copy, which they argue entitles them to loan out a digital copy.

> The big issue that you (and the publishers) are missing here is that you think that this is losing you income.

While that is a factor, I don't care if I don't lose income. I care that I'm losing my rights.

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SomethingMatter t1_jd4140y wrote

> Incorrect. They have no digital copy that they paid to “loan out”. They have a physical copy, which they argue entitles them to loan out a digital copy.

It’s already been established that this isn’t a problem. Libraries have created and loaned out braille books based on the OCR’d contents of their physical copies. That was deemed legal. This is exactly the same thing. They are creating a digital copy from the physical one (by scanning it in) and lending that out. It’s part of the fair use doctrine.

> While that is a factor, I don’t care if I don’t lose income. I care that I’m losing my rights.

What rights are you losing and what is the personal harm with the loss of those rights? There is a balance between personal rights and those of the public at large.

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sirbruce t1_jd5pfwe wrote

> It’s already been established that this isn’t a problem.

Whether or not it's a "problem" is irrelevant. If slavery wasn't a "problem", it would still be wrong. Creators have a right to control their work.

> Libraries have created and loaned out braille books based on the OCR’d contents of their physical copies. That was deemed legal. This is exactly the same thing.

There's a specific carve-out for such use in existing copyright law. There is no such carve-out for digital copies of physical books -- yet.

> What rights are you losing and what is the personal harm with the loss of those rights?

The right to license the digital reproduction of my work as I decide. The right not to be obligated to allow digital reproduction of my work simply because a physical copy was sold.

> There is a balance between personal rights and those of the public at large.

That is a popular argument under the social contract theory of rights, but much of modern law (particularly US law) is founded under the natural law theory of rights, to which I morally abscribe.

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