Comment by nullhole
5 days ago
> I disagree with the interpretation that it needs to be held physically. Digital ownership is still ownership. I go out of my way to find music on Bandcamp, games on GOG, and rip movies myself using MakeMKV.
Files on a hard disk that you own are still files that you physically own. The only difference between those files and, say, a DVD, is that the encoding is more space-efficient.
The parent's point is that possession of a physical good is a bright line separation. For digital files, there's a huge difference between [Files you own] on a hard disk, and files [on a hard disk you own]. There are files you can put on a hard drive that you don't own and will ultimately kill themselves when specified criteria are met, like DRM'd ebooks.
I would argue that the files on your hdd that can expire or made unusable by some remote third party are as incomplete as a book that is missing half the pages. For example a keepass file without the password/key-file is incomplete, the same goes for Audible aax files that can not be played without per-user 'activation bytes.' You have possession of the file but you never owned its contents.
For Audible I use OpenAudible which converts the aax files to m4b when I download them.
> The only difference between those files and, say, a DVD, is that the encoding is more space-efficient.
Also that it's (depending on the format) perhaps not illegal to use the content in the file wit any viewer you choose.
Which does not depend on the data being on a DVD at all, but the details of contract of purchase. When you buy the data on a harddisk, the exact same terms would apply.
I think the idea is that with a book or a DVD you're not allowed to copy it. You're allowed to lend or sell it though.
Is that the state of things? I thought you could copy a legally purchased thing, just not distribute it?
Depends on your country.
In my country I can legally make copies of for example books, movies, CDs etc, as long as the copies are only for personal use.
I can even legally privately share copies with family and close friends. As in close real life people that I have a personal relationship with.
A copy made for personal use cannot later be used for a different purpose. And a copy made for personal use must be made from a legal source in the first place.
The copy of The Matrix that a friend burned on a CD (DivX encoded file under 700 MB, that I would watch on the computer) and gave to me years ago, would have been illegal today because he got that movie from his brother who got it from a torrent tracker.
But if instead of downloading the movie from a P2P network his brother had borrowed The Matrix on DVD from the local library, and ripped it himself, and given a copy to his brother, who then gave me a copy, then my understanding is that this would have been completely fine and legal today in my country.
It’s all pretty weird.
In other countries, the laws are different.
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