"I own ___ in one format so it's ok to download it in another" argument for stealing?

[BenC (formerly Ape-X)]

NOTE: This isn't a condoning or condemnation of the practice. Just a discussion...

I have a buddy who believes this.

For example, he will download Nirvana's "Nevermind" because he bought it on cassette many moons ago.

Is this stealing?

He could (somewhat) easily hook up a tape deck to his PC and rip the audio off of the cassette. Wouldn't that be the same thing? He's just cutting out a bothersome step, right?

It got me thinking about comics. I've been seriously considering buying a iPad...not really for newer comics, but for old ones.

Hear me out...

Up in my attic I have tons of boxes of comics. Gigantic runs of dozens of titles. I would love to re-read some of these comics...but, like I said, they're up in the attic. And carrying down a long box of Alan Grant / Norm Breyfogle Batman comics? Well, I'm a lazy, lazy man.

So...
1.) I own the comics.

2.) DC has shown little to no interest in reprinting this material...let alone digital format.

3.) So could I download the comics and put them on an iPad?

It's the same situation as my pal and his "I could just convert the cassette to .mp3 myself" argument.

So lets skip the finger-pointing and name calling...is it ethically permissable?

WEIGH IN!

[Gregory]

I downloaded Radiohead's In Rainbows without paying for it, but I bought the CD when it was later released.

[GelfXIII]

I downloaded Radiohead's In Rainbows without paying for it, but I bought the CD when it was later released.

This is entirely different IMO. I do this as well. DL a song or an album to see if I like it before I buy it, and then ACTUALLY DO BUY IT, or delete it off my HD if I dont want to keep it. Basically I'm performing the job that radio stations used to occupy of letting listeners sample the music free before buying the album. I think that's fine, as long as you actually do buy it if you want to keep it.

Going the other way, as the first post suggests, isn't OK by me. If you own it, and want to perform the conversion yourself, ie. ripping a DVD to your iPod, is fine, but DLing it from somewhere else is problematical.

[Evan the Shaggy]

Its a really tough question.

I guess it really depends on the situation.

[SidekicksRevenge]

Actually, as anti-piracy I usually am, I'm on board with this argument. Specifically the "I bought the cassette tape back in the day, so I've paid for this straight up" version. Don't see why it shouldn't be expanded to comics...

[BenC (formerly Ape-X)]

Actually, as anti-piracy I usually am, I'm on board with this argument. Specifically the "I bought the cassette tape back in the day, so I've paid for this straight up" version. Don't see why it shouldn't be expanded to comics...

You see, I'm the same way.

I guess if the books were available digitally I might feel a little different...but still, I own the books. They're in the attic. With the other boxes. Sitting there.

By getting an iPad I could readily enjoy the old books I have...

[Marcdachamp]

It all comes down to you.

Living in the digital age, we all kind of make our own call as to what's right and what's not. There's a lot of grey area.

[edwardmblake]

I saw Star Wars in the theater when it came out. I bought the videotapes. I bought the original DVDs. If the movies are available on the web for Blue Ray, it would be ok to download them? Isn't the price I'm paying, for not the content itself, but the content and the way in which the media is displayed?

I don't know. I see your logic, but I think there's something wrong with it. "I have a dollar in a bank. I want to look at the dollar now, but am to lazy to withdrawal it. So I take a dollar from anywhere so I can look at it, and BTW keep it."...and there should be no consequences for that? It's going to be a tough sell in a court, if you get the dollar from the wrong person.

[bartleby]

While the argument makes sense, it basically just opens up the floodgates for other people to justify why it's all right for them to download. And it's not really one of those things that can be policed on a case-by-case basis, so if it's wrong for somebody pirate stuff because they don't want to pay for it, it's wrong for everybody who does it.

[SidekicksRevenge]

While the argument makes sense, it basically just opens up the floodgates for other people to justify why it's all right for them to download. And it's not really one of those things that can be policed on a case-by-case basis, so if it's wrong for somebody pirate stuff because they don't want to pay for it, it's wrong for everybody who does it.

Yeah, legally I think you're still screwed. Unless you saved those receipts from 1992. Morally, though, I think this is one of those "you're in the clear" sort of deals. Unless you bought the cassette or comic out of a dollar bin 18 years after the fact...