The Morality of Sharing Books

Sharing a physical copy of a book, either with friends or through a library, does not deprive an author of just compensation. The author receives a royalty for the sale of each new, physical copy of his book. With electronic books, though, “sharing” occurs through the generation of new electronic copies of a book. When electronic book sharing is unauthorized by the copyright holder, then the author and his publisher receive no payment for the new, unauthorized copies of the ebook. Not only that, but when there is no record of an authorized sale for each new copy of electronic books, then the author’s sales record is harmed, which in turn affects the author’s ability to negotiate future publishing contracts and to make a living from his writing.

So, no problem sharing physical books but immoral to share unauthorized copies of ebooks.