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In the library examples, there remains only one copy of the book or CD, so if you want to own the book or CD, you still have to buy it. It is not analagous to downloading music from the Internet.

It is exactly the same. My library offers to loan you a CD and you are welcome to make a copy of it on your home computer. That is exactly what one does when he makes a song available for download on a file sharing service.

Don't tell me that book publishers don't lose revenue when people borrow a book from a library instead of buying one.

Can I loan you a CD I bought, or is that breaking the law? What if you make a copy of it? Remember the big stink about reselling CDs (Garth Brooks ate it big time on that one.)

This is a gray area of the law and RIAA may lose the publicity battle if they don't tread carefully.

"This is a gray area of the law."
You got that right. The RIAA is needlessly overloading our courts with this crap and the justice system instead concentrates on this spurious "illegality" and completely overlooks the illegal immigrants who are invading our country.

Don't tell me that book publishers don't lose revenue when people borrow a book from a library instead of buying one.

Sorry, going to tell you anyway. Book publishers make more money when more people are reading. Libraries are great sources for finding new authors for people to read, and I put it to anyone to find a book publisher who thinks that library patrons don't buy more books than those who do not go to libraries.

Baen Free Library is an example of one publisher who has enjoyed increased sales of their books by encouraging people to download and read their books for free.