[an amused spectator]

If this is legal, then why wouldn't it be legal to rent a DVD from Blockbuster and then copy it?

It's not as easy to copy a DVD yet. People have been renting VHS tapes from Blockbuster and copying them forever. The same difficulty that one has with a DVD is present with books.

My point is that the technology to easily make copies of DVDs, CDs, VHS tapes, books, etc. is here, now. Why aren't we doing it? For example , libraries should be planning to replace their paper copies with electronic versions. Why should we have 500,000 copies of Lying History scattered about the country in brick & mortar buildings, when one electronic version could be located on a server somewhere? The reason is that a copyright cartel is blocking informational progress, and the reason is all about money.

I'll give you an absolutely fabulous example of the organized informational thievery engaged in by the cartel: college textbooks. College students are paying hundreds of dollars for texts that could be accessed via computer, and chapters printed off as needed.

It's theft, pure and simple - on a gargantuan scale.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Interesting point about textbooks.

My first grader has one school textbook, that must be used on a daily basis. But, the school does not have a copy for 'at home' use. (Necessary for young children who NEVER remember to bring anything home.) The teacher just copies the pages, and sends five or six home at a time.

So, this is the same as your idea.

As for college textbooks, a great deal of the information that students are using is already on the computer, and they take courses online, too. The cost is more per credit hour, but it truly is convenient. Perhaps the universities could impliment this on a broader scale, but I still think the copyright holders would want everyone to pay the same price, be it an "electronic book" version, or a hardbound volume.

Would the market support paying the same price, for both? I don't know about that.