Let The Arguing Begin!

Interesting post at the New York Times site today, on the topic of illegally downloading an electronic copy of a book that you bought in printed form. The ethicist takes the (perhaps surprising) position that, while it may be illegal, it's not particularly unethical.

I have to admit that, as much as I despise most pirating that occurs today, I've pretty always subscribed to the notion that purchasing one format should entitle you to copy it for personal use. I was one of those teenagers/young adults who bought LPs and then copied them onto blank cassettes for enjoying in the car. I tend to look at it as follows: if you're downloading stuff that you've already paid for, then at least you've put some money into the pockets of the people responsible for creating (and often distributing) the art. If every person who's ever illegally downloaded a book, song, comic, TV show or movie lived by that principle, then I don't think there would be any issue with digital copies. It's my suspicion that most pirates don't pay for most, if any, of their booty that makes it more worrisome.