Is reading pirated books ethical?

[MJ DeMarco]

No American should be stealing my work, surely with the theft being perpetrated on their brand new iPhone as they claim they can't afford books. Thieves, plain and simple.

However, I can see people in less industrialized countries reading pirated books out of necessity, and in these cases, I really don't have a problem with it. I don't have a problem with a 19-year old in Cameroon who makes $100 USD a month illegally getting my work. If they get value from it, or put it to action, they can always pay me later.

It’s not actually hurting anyone.

Clearly you have not put your heart in soul into some creative endeavor, only to have someone like you steal it, and then justify your theft. I hope someday you pour 3 years of your life into some project, only to have someone steal it. And then hear, "Meh, it hurts no one."

SMH.

 

[BizyDad]

Instead of worrying about this, get started building a business and pay your own, and then your parents, electricity bill.

Get to work.

 

[Kak]

Is Reading Pirated Books Ethical?​

No.

It is stealing, and gaining at the expense of someone else. Books are cheap. Buy them used if you’re poor.

If you are unwilling to make such a minuscule investment in yourself, you’re going to have problems on this path.

If you want to pirate something, pirate movies. They don’t make you better and they are written, filmed, acted in, developed by and benefit communist Hollywood people who want to steal from you.

 

[Fox]

Over time stealing erodes your own self-worth.

It is hard to stand behind your own product 100% when you have been stealing others.

 

[GPM]

Read them. Once you have the means start buying them to support the authors.

I used to pirate a ton of audio books. I have since gone back and purchased most of the ones I pirated on Audible, if I enjoyed the material.

My first ever Grant Cardone audiobooks were all pirated, and I have since purchased something like 5 of them from Audible.

 

[Joejordan95]

Who cares?

It’s not actually hurting anyone. Everyone watches pirated films bro.

If you like a book a lot go back and buy it to support the author

 

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[Antifragile]

ethical? No, but you already know this!

That’s the wrong question to ask.

Better question is: would the author prefer you steal his E-book and read it or not read it at all (assuming you can’t afford it)? Most would rather you read the book. Especially if your action after made you wealthier and you then returned and purchased the books after. There is a way to make it right.

I buy a ton of books, 80%!+ I’ll never read. But that’s OK. Based on where I live and my financial situation, books are cheap to me. Not everyone is this fortunate… do what is right for your individual situation.

 

[Ayush6543]

Ok. Finally. Today I bought Unscripted with the money I received on my birthday.

 

[thomasdao]

If you want to pirate something, pirate movies. They don’t make you better and they are written, filmed, acted in, developed by and benefit Hollywood people who want to steal from you.

Oh come on, that's just unfair. People invest a ton of resource to produce a good movie too. You can't say pirating movies is okay while doing the same thing with books is unethical.

In my opinion, it's wrong to pirate books. But is it okay to break or bend the rules sometimes if you have a very good reason to do so? I believe the answer is yes.

 

[Ayush6543]

After thinking about it a lot. I have decided that I won't read pirated books from now on, and I have written the name of authors whose books I read. I am gonna buy their book as I start earning on my own. Thanks. @MJ DeMarco

 

[Trevor Kuntz]

I know @Kak said that he prefers to get all of his books from a local public library or, better yet, a public school library!

He also said if you can't walk to the local library, taking a city bus is an excellent and efficient way to get to the public library

 

[PureA]

MJ would probably have a good stance on this as he is in the exact position.

If it were me, I wouldn't mind you stealing if you couldn't afford it. Buy the book later when you've made some money, recommend it to friends, etc.

 

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[Kak]

Oh come on, that's just unfair. People invest a ton of resource to produce a good movie too. You can't say pirating movies is okay while doing the same thing with books is unethical.

In my opinion, it's wrong to pirate books. But is it okay to break or bend the rules sometimes if you have a very good reason to do so? I believe the answer is yes.

That was facetious with a little bit of truth.

No, neither is ethical. I just care less about Hollywood than authors.

 

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[Cameraman]

As an author, I know my books are pirated. Sometimes I benefit from people coming to my website and buying the book as well as others. I suspect these people are in the minority. I'm happy that they have discovered me but I'm not happy with how.

Piracy damages the publishing industry and by that, I mean the independent publishers and authors.

It's not that I miss out on the income from a sale, although that is an issue. It's the fact that I've just spent 6-8 months writing probably 20 hours a week without any guarantee of a return. I also need to cover my upfront costs for things like print layouts, proofreading, editing, and cover designs. There's a big outlay and risk in publishing a book. The more people pirate the book, the less inclined I am to take the risk of self-publishing.

Good luck finding something of value to read when there are only the big publishers left.

 

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[Fox]

Ok. Finally. Today I bought Unscripted with the money I received on my birthday.

Happy birthday!

 

[Strm]

my parents started stealing electricity

Sorry, I don't know why but this actually sounds hilarious in my head and makes me want to try it

 

[Devilery]

So, for the past couple of years, I have been reading pirated books from the internet, and have learned a lot from them. But last year, my parents started stealing electricity, (cuz it's very easy to steal electricity in India). So I am thinking to stop them from doing so. But I think that first I should change myself. I have been thinking about it a lot. That's why I was wanting some advice, from you guys.

Only stop your parents from stealing electricity if you're going to pay the bill. Sure, stealing = bad, but there's no other reason to do it than to save money, so if you want them to stop it, cover the damn bill.

Regarding pirated materials, I find a PDF version online and if it's a really good book, I put it on a list "I will buy a physical copy of this".

 

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[Aditya Gunjal]

So, for the past couple of years, I have been reading pirated books from the internet, and have learned a lot from them. But last year, my parents started stealing electricity, (cuz it's very easy to steal electricity in India). So I am thinking to stop them from doing so. But I think that first I should change myself. I have been thinking about it a lot. That's why I was wanting some advice, from you guys.

Repay sir MJ by building a fastlane business and getting financially free then promoting his books and his philosophy. His goal is to get people financially free as much as possible.

 

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[Bruno Calisso]

You could've just said "I'm a thief with no shame" and spared me from reading this paragraph. And not everyone does what you do. Don't include us all.

A lot of hypocrisy huh? Bruno makes some solid points here. Double standards suck. Hypocrites shouldn't even chime into this thread.

So I'll take one of those coupon codes for a free version of whatever @Bruno Calisso is selling. I promise to pay for it later when I feel I've made it.

And it would be even better if Bruno himself doesn't create the coupon code. Like can someone hack him and force him to give me some of his stuff for free? How about all his stuff? That's the way the internet works, right? Suck it up Bruno, no point in fighting it.

Someone install some ransonware on his computer while we're at it. Because if crime is happening on the internet, Bruno thinks it's a-ok. It's just the way it works, get used to it.

I just wouldn't want Bruno to be one of those awful hypocrites he's ranting about. He believes in "sharing". Sharing is caring Bruno.

Bruno, be a good boy and tell us your website so we can all go claim our free stuff. Don't worry bro, we're good for it. We'll pay you later.

I mean, as long as your stuff is actually good.

If your stuff sucks, then we deserve to try it out for free, but you definitely don't deserve to get paid.

It's a wonder of the internet.

You really have a fertile imagination, so much talk for nothing, just to find a way to throw a reverse retoric on me.

As I have said, you are hypocrites, you do the same when you hear music on YouTube and don't buy the album, oh and the Ad royalities doesn't coun't as a way of YOU supporting the artist.

I am not defending piracy, but that's how the internet works, your mom will share pdfs with her friend. You don't have to like it, swallow it bitterly because it will keep happening and people are straight forward and don't give a sh*t about your "ethics". This world is for wolves, not puppies.

 

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[Ayush6543]

So, for the past couple of years, I have been reading pirated books from the internet, and have learned a lot from them. But last year, my parents started stealing electricity, (cuz it's very easy to steal electricity in India). So I am thinking to stop them from doing so. But I think that first I should change myself. I have been thinking about it a lot. That's why I was wanting some advice, from you guys.

 

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[doster.zach]

So, for the past couple of years, I have been reading pirated books from the internet, and have learned a lot from them. But last year, my parents started stealing electricity, (cuz it's very easy to steal electricity in India). So I am thinking to stop them from doing so. But I think that first I should change myself. I have been thinking about it a lot. That's why I was wanting some advice, from you guys.

Yes it’s unethical, it’s stealing 100%.

Only reason you might need to do this is if the book is banned in your country by the government.

 

[woken]

You’re more likely to value something you paid for. You’re also more likely to read and implement the wisdom.

That says it all.

 

[Speculatooor]

Only if you want to pay but can't.

2 situations come to my mind;
- printed copies not being available (but pirated copies available online)
- broke financially, but determined to pay for them later when financial situation has improved

 

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[Aditya Gunjal]

Sorry, I don't know why but this actually sounds hilarious in my head and makes me want to try it

This is a religious practice in india. Mostly done in villages.
And then our government says they dont have money to buy coal and debts us so that they can buy more and increase price per unit kwatt.

 

[Rich Dave]

Stealing is cheap, let it not grow into a habit, steal some but when you get better, ensure to buy the books

 

[Bruno Calisso]

I download all my ebooks, pay nothing. If I like them I will buy them for my library. It's not unethical, it's the way the internet has always been working, sharing files, everyone downloads or has already used copyrighted files from the web, no one is a saint in this. The other day I couldn't preview a book because the author only had his book available in paperback, smart! I had to buy it first. I think it becomes unethical if you start enjoying an author content and don't support him afterwards.

 

[BAUCE]

Damn man,

Guess we’re all thieves then because I’m sure like a very very large population of the planet you and a lot of people on this thread and those who liked your post too all engaged in illegally downloading music/ streaming music at some point in your lives.

Those artists spending months sometimes years putting albums together, putting their heart and soul into it for most of us on this very forum to just download or rip it from a friends cd back kn the day.

For the record MJ, I’ve bought all your books before I listened to them.

maybe I have put my heart and soul into something for at least 3 years, maybe I haven’t. Maybe I still hold the same view after putting in my effort on some project for that amount of time.

Shake your head in judgement all you like

It just seems funny to me that a lot of people are throwing stones when they live in a glass house

“I hope someday you pour 3 years of your life into some project, only to have someone steal it. And then hear, "Meh, it hurts no one."

MJ I just hope your future continues to be fruitful and that you continue to provide value because I’ve learned a few things from you so far and even today still.

Thanks

 

[EmotionEngine]

I download all my ebooks, pay nothing. If I like them I will buy them for my library. It's not unethical, it's the way the internet has always been working, sharing files, everyone downloads or has already used copyrighted files from the web, no one is a saint in this. The other day I couldn't preview a book because the author only had his book available in paperback, smart! I had to buy it first. I think it becomes unethical if you start enjoying an author content and don't support him afterwards.

You could've just said "I'm a thief with no shame" and spared me from reading this paragraph. And not everyone does what you do. Don't include us all.

 

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[biophase]

BTW, I would had never been part of this community if I had not previously downloaded MJ's book. Previewing my books before buying them is critical. To me it's just not pratical to go to a library.

So have you gone back and purchased MJ's books now that you are a part of the community?

 

[Kak]

I know @Kak said that he prefers to get all of his books from a local public library or, better yet, a public school library!

He also said if you can't walk to the local library, taking a city bus is an excellent and efficient way to get to the public library

Oh boy.

 

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