A thoughtful article on digital ownership, or more rightly, lack of digital ownership, at Technology Review. When I wrote about my book problem a few days ago many people commented about how e-books have helped rescue them from the problem of limited shelf space for printed books.
I must admit, it is an appealing solution. But even though I have had a Kindle for a little over two years now, I haven’t bought a single book for it, choosing to read only public domain books on it. This is a plus because I am reading more classics than I have in a long time and it has enabled Bookman and I to resist the lure of the Barnes and Noble buy two get one free classics sale. It has also allowed us to clear space on our bookshelves for other books as we donated a goodly portion of our print classics to the Women’s Prison Book Project.
The main reason I haven’t bought an e-book has do to with ownership. One does not own an e-book like a physical book is owned. As Simson Garfinkel puts it in the article:
Popular understanding of what it means to own something—be it digital file or physical object—has up to now been well aligned with the law’s. When you buy a book you don’t get rights to the text, but you can read it, lend it to a friend, and then sell it to a secondhand shop, which can advertise it and sell it once more. But this tacit understanding of ownership is useless in the cloud.
Am I being old fashioned to care that if I buy a book for my Kindle I don’t own it? Does it matter? Is the concept of ownership a thing of the past? Does it matter that Amazon can terminate my access to that book like it did last year to those who bought a particular e-book edition of 1984?
I am a member of Netflix and stream movies all the time and am not bothered that I don’t own them. But to me this seems different. I pay my monthly membership fee and I think of it like renting a movie at the local video store when there used to be local video stores. Should I start thinking of e-books that way too?
I considered briefly whether buying an e-book is like borrowing a book from the public library. I don’t own the books I borrow and it does not bother me a bit to have to give them back. The library is technically not free since I pay for its existence through taxes. Is buying an e-book then like using the library except I pay directly for what I use instead of contribute to the general system? The library, of course, is big on privacy whereas Amazon and other cloud venders are not but that is an issue separate from ownership perhaps to be tackled another time.
The potential for censorship of e-books concerns me. What if, for instance, I purchase an e-book that turns out to be a modern-day Lady Chatterly’s Lover? What if, in court, the book loses and Amazon is made to stop selling the book and to remove all access to the book? Poof! There goes my book. This could not happen if I owned the book.
I don’t think ownership should depend on the physicalness of a book or any other item for that matter. But the way digital rights are evolving it does. This is unfortunate. Libraries and plenty of other people are working on the access v. ownership issues but it will take the government writing new copyright law to settle it. That is not likely to happen any time soon and and if/when it does I don’t trust the government to write a law that is in my best interest. In case anyone hasn’t noticed, the U.S. government does not currently have its act together.
Do I worry about this too much? Does anyone else think about it?
In case anyone hasn’t noticed, the U.S. government does not currently have its act together.
Amen, sister.
Ownership issues are the number-one reason I’m not particularly interested in buying literature (as opposed to, I don’t know, how-to manuals, knitting patterns, and other things where digital changes are more likely to be updates or corrections than censorship) in virtual form. If I pay money for a book I want to be able to loan it or re-sell it. If I can’t do that, I want to pay significantly less for it than I would for a print copy—as in, less than half, which given the fact that I’m not exactly reading best sellers over here, is probably not going to happen. It’s not just the principle of the thing, though that’s part of it: I actually do re-sell the used books I don’t want anymore (to Powell’s), so investing in something that would take away my ability to do that just doesn’t make sense.
In short, you’re not the only one who thinks about it!
PS – I thought at first that the author of that article was named “Simon Garfunkel,” which would have been awesome.
I’ve bought a few books for my Nook–just a few inexpensive books and mostly I also load the free stuff. I still haven’t quite converted over to really liking my ereader. In theory I do like reading on it, but it isn’t the same as a book. Today at the gym I set it down and turned it off as I just wasn’t enjoying the experience–which wouldn’t have likely happened with a book. I also have an issue with ownership when comes to digital format–not so with movies either, but they seem like one-offs–I don’t often watch movies again. And of course this all has an impact on library ownership of ebooks, too. Often you only get a certain number of check outs and then need to pay again. And they can yank them when they want, too. Difficult questions!
I hardly ever buy e-books for the very reasons you mention. There’s a whole calculation involved in the decision. How much do I want to read it? How likely am I to want to read it again? Does the cost seem worth it just to read it once? And mostly I’ve determined that there are too many free e-books available for me to pay money for something that isn’t tangible. (Plus, I’m a cheap-skate at heart.) Some of the 99 cent deals I see once in a while (like the Georgette Heyers last week) are tempting, though.
As for the censorship angle, I wonder if the possibility of that happening would depend on the sort of reader you have. My Sony has no wireless capabilities at all. I have to transfer all files manually from my hard drive onto my e-reader, and I don’t believe there’s a point in the chain where an outside entity could take back something that’s already on the reader, unless it was set to expire on a certain date, as library books do. It’s actually one of the reasons I went with a non-wireless reader–I wanted to ensure more control and privacy.
But I am starting to have visions of a digital samizdat movement, with people transferring hacked files of censored documents! Altogether more noble than the digital piracy you hear about.
Hmmmmmmmmm.
Trying to reach conclusions on this topic is like trying to nail jello to a wall. I keep trying to boil this down to a single question, the one that creates all the other questions. The only one I can think of is one that’s as infuriatingly relative as “what is jazz.”
Question: Assume I both the author and publisher of a book. At what point should my ownership – my legal and financial stewardship and my right to continue to make money on the “life” – of said book end?
The answer depends on whether I’m a money-grubbing bastard, or if I’m a “reader’s rights” idealist, I suppose.
My answer changes with every new minute of the day.
Excellent post, with some very thought-provoking points. If I ever get an ereader, I will be relucant to spend a lot of money on content for it. I’ll probably use it mostly for classics that I can download free from Project Gutenburg etc. Purchasing ebooks is a lot like buying music from iTunes in the sense that there are limitations on what you can do with it, not to mention the potential for losing it due to technical failure if the content is not backed up.
Censorship is the most alarming aspect. Imagine if when Ferlinghetti was prosecuted for having published Howl, that the court could have ordered the instantaneous destruction of every copy in existence. That’s a bad scene that should be regulated somehow.
That’s certainly one of the reasons I wouldn’t buy an ebook–you can’t really “buy” one, you can only rent or lease, with many limitations on use (to say nothing of the problem of technological obsolescence). They’re not meant to be part of a permanent library that one builds up over time, but just temporary entertainment that one continually replaces with new content. The movie rental/streaming analogy seems to be the best, and I wonder if monthly subscriptions are on the way. Perhaps we’ll see the return of the Book of the Month Club!
Emily, I am glad I am not the only one who thinks about it! For some things it doesn’t matter much to me, like magazines for instance. If I buy a magazine I don’t expect to keep it forever so digital magazines seem great to me because I don’t have to toss it in the recycly bin when I’m done with it. But books, like you, if I am going to invest in a book I want to be able to dispose of it as I wish whether it be donating it or selling it or tossing it in the trash. And I thought briefly too that the author was Simon Garfunkel and almost typed it that way!
Danielle, interesting what about reading on your ereader at the gym. I like my Kindle a lot but I too, sometimes get tired of it in a way that I don’t get tired of print books. And you are right, the ownership issue has a big impact on libraries. Is it HarperCollins that makes a library pay for the book again after 26 check-outs? Ridiculous!
Teresa, smart thinking on your choice of ereader. One of the things I like about the Kindle is that it is connected – I can Tweet quotes from the book I am reading and share my notes. But I usually have the wireless connection turned off, not only to save battery life but also because I want to connect on my own terms which seems weird but it gives me at least the illusion of control. I like your vision of a digital samizdat movement! Hopefully we will never reach a point where it is necessary, but perhaps I should learn how to hack DRM just in case
Cameron, good analogy! There is no reason why digital book copyright couldn’t be similar to print book copyright. I buy a digital copy of the book and own it. You, the author get paid for that purchase. I can then sell the book or lend the book as I please. I would not be allowed to make copies of the book though. It should be possible to place some kind of authentication code or something in a digital book that would mark it as legit so that legally I would not be able to re-sell a book that did not have that auth code or lend one for that matter. Publishers have never been pleased with the first sale doctrine and I think they are trying to take that away with digital books. They shouldn’t be allowed to.
Stephanie, thanks! I’ve not bought music from iTunes yet, I’m still attached to CDs becasue I can copy it to my iPod or listen to it in the car or lend it to a friend. I think music is a little more open than e-books are right now because I can buy a song from iTunes and copy it to any of my devices but if I buy an e-book from Amazon I can only read it on my registered devices. The prospect of censorship is alarming, isn’t it? Unfortunately I think regulation will only come when digital censorship cases begin appearing in the courts because Congress is too lame and short-sighted to do anything about it proactively.
Sylvia, there is that obsolescence issue too isn’t there? And I mean for both devices and file formats. And then of course, there is the problem of being locked in to a single vender. Say I tire of Amazon and want a Nook instead, I can’t transfer any of my Amazon books to my Nook or vice versa. Apple is forcing something similar on people who buy books for their iPads. It is a scary thing to think about how suddenly our options can be limited. As far as a digital book of the month club goes, I kind of like that idea!
Definitely the price point must be low if they want us to consider it a rental. Generally, it would be kind of like a private library then. However, you really got me thinking when you mentioned the idea that your book could vanish if someone decided you shouldn’t read it. Easy enough to make an excuse about why they aren’t providing it anymore as well. Censorship possibilities are vast and disappointing.
I often buy a book and then take five years to read it – I couldn’t possibly risk that on a kindle as the book may not exist by the time I get around to it. But then you know my feelings about ereaders anyway.
I do wish the law would get a move on and sort this problem out, though. I’ll bet loads of ereader owners don’t realise what could happen and that’s not fair.
Bikkuri, I think a lot of people believe the price point for digital books should be a lot less than they are but most publishers think otherwise. The censorship possibilities are truly frightening if you let your mind roam freely down that path.
Litlove, e-books do encourage instant gratification and less stockpiling. Except for those free public domain books. I’m stockpiling those as if they might disappear tomorrow. I fear you are correct that many e-reader owners don’t understand the digital book rights mess. No one ever accused lawmakers of being innovative and proactive though.
I dont’ have an ereader, but your reasons are ones that are why I don’t think I’d ever pay for an electronic copy. It does worry me how drm is always changing. I can’t tell you how many songs I purchased a decade ago that have disappeared in my computer cyberspace because I just didn’t understand how to use the drm associated with them. I don’t buy songs anymore.
Rebecca, it is hard to want to purchase digital itmes when the drm changes so frequently and you never know if they will disappear of eventually no longer work on your various devices or if the drm will actually harm your device like the Sony incident that happened a number of years ago.
I did manage to read on my Nook for the rest of the week at the gym–I guess I am too into my book now to set it aside. Still, next week it’ll be back to a book-book during gym time. I will say it is nice just leaning the Nook on the little shelf on the stationary bike and not having a paper book in my sweaty hands!
Danielle, sometimes the desire to read a good story goes beyond the format. I imagine turning Nook pages is much easier than turning paper pages at the gym.
Honestly, I’m just surprised that there’s someone else out there with an eReader who hasn’t bought any eBooks for it. I’m also going the free route, though mine includes library books in addition to those lovely Gutenbergs (thank you, Sony!). This is one of the reasons I’m not officially on the “eReader” bandwagon… I figure the fact that I refuse to pay for eBooks (partly because of this ownership issue, but also a matter of principle – eBooks are pretty much the same price as paperbacks. That’s not acceptable) isn’t one of the common sentiments in eReader owners.
Regarding your ultimate question, yes. It’s something I think about. It’s something that bothers me. When you pay money for something, it should be yours. Unless someone suddenly invents the eternal rental, stuff you pay for should be yours. Your eBooks shouldn’t disappear just because you switched e-mails. You should be able to share them. You should be able to will them to someone. But you can’t, and that weirds me out a bit. I like owning things. I sincerely hope this isn’t becoming obsolete.
I never thought of the censorship thing, but that’s a fascinating point. This is one of those subjects with a lot of questions and few answers. Wonderful post. Leaves me with a lot to think over…