Why do people think you can read copyrighted books for free online?

[siuaghan]

I mean, do these people who think they can read whatever they want online not understand the concept of intellectual property and copyright laws?

Besides, how much would it suck to read a book from a computer screen?

[ingel]

Because our society is all about instant gratification, they want to be able to click a mouse and immediately have something that they should pay for, either at a bookstore or through ordering online. If it is that important for them to save money they could just go to the library, but they do not want to get up, they want it immediately and they want it for free.
It is really quite sad.

[fionnbharr]

Because people think that everything is on the internet these days. And they clearly do not understand how copyright laws work. They are also cheap because they have become accustomed to downloading music absolutely free. I also hate that people are asking again and again where to find entire books online. It is sickening that they would disrespect the author in such a way. Refusing to pay for something that you want to read? I just don't understand it. I would hate reading from a computer screen. It is so hard and uncomfortable.

[aldric13]

Some people who are disabled choose to read books on a computer because they simply cannot use both hands to hold a book. Sometimes it is easier to store thousands of books on a laptop rather than carry books with you everywhere.

As for copyrighted books online, they are easily available if you know where to look. People don't care if they steal movies or music so why would a digital book bother them?

[jorian23]

actually, you can read some books on line. the prophet, by kahlil gibran is one of them. very generous indeed. another is the bible. sorry i can't give you any more examples without researching.

i do understand and totally respect the concept of intellectual property and copyright laws. i'm anti boot legging too; however if a writer wishes to share his or her gift with the world, i think that's grand.

[gustav]

Answer to question number 1 is instant gratification. Most people that do it don't think that it will hurt anyone, after all, they are not downloading the book for profit. However, the point they are missing is that there is not just one person getting the book for "Free" there are likely hundreds more doing the same thing, and that is when the author owning the copyright suffers as he/she will not be seeing a single penny for his/her hard work. A simple matter of putting yourself in someone else's shoes... something that seems to be turning into an extinct concept.

As to reading from a computer screen, that is not the case. The majority of us ebook readers use handheld devices to read our ebooks. We don't just sit in front of a monitor screen slowly going blind you know. I use a Pocket PC in which I can store, literally, hundreds of ebooks, and bring it with me. I can adjust the backlight (so that it doesn't kill my eyesight) and control the font size. On top of that, I can connect to the internet with it, write Word documents, etc. Savvy ebook fans prefer multiple use PDAs, some even use their iPhones for their ereading.

[collyer]

if they look long enough they will find it it will not be legal but will be there