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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Echohawk" data-source="post: 4681241" data-attributes="member: 9849">I'm of the opinion that a PDF of the PHB and a printed PHB are also different products. Certainly there is a lot more difference in functionality between the PDF and print versions of the PHB than there is between the Deluxe PHB and the ordinary PHB. Why then are the Deluxe PHB and the PHB different products, but the PDF and print versions not?I don't think it comes down to effort. My understanding is that it is the involvement of a a third party that changes the situation. My understanding (which may not be correct, I concede) is that I am entitled to transform a work that I have purchased, but that I may not distribute my transformed work to anyone else. Therefore, if I am obtaining a transformed work from someone else, then there is a crime being committed. That crime might not be committed by me, depending on the jurisdiction, but since there does seem to be crime committed by the distributor, it seems to me that downloading that transformed work is morally questionable.Of course, I understand and respect the fact that other people do not view that as morally questionable. I can only try to explain why I have a problem with this.I'm aware of that. I have avoiding labeling copyright infringement as theft. (At least I hope I have!) But go back and reread my example. I was not equating downloading a PDF with stealing a Deluxe PHB. I was comparing downloading a PDF from a source that is clearly distributing that PDF illegally, with buying a Deluxe PHB from someone who has probably obtained a copy of the physical book illegally. I realise that those are still not quite the same thing, since most countries have laws specifically against knowingly purchasing stolen goods, while the legality of knowingly downloading illegally copied content is far more grey. However, for the purpose of illustrating why I personally have a moral issue with downloading illegal PDFs, I believe that the comparison is a reasonable one. In both cases the recipient of the product is transacting with someone that they know is committing a crime. And that causes my moral compass to spin.</blockquote>

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