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Is it ethical to share books for free?
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Is it ethical to share books for free on social media which were published by their authors after a lot of tiring work expecting a financial gain from their sale?
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Mohamed, this is a good point to be raised, mainly in this digital era.
The gesture in itself calls for consideration of some ethical perspectives. Respect and fairness are some of the ethical values that call for attention. Respect towards the work of the author and the assiduous effort put towards that deliverable. Fairness towards the practice of sharing something that is not yours but for which you want to take cred. Ask for permission from the author, engage the author in your actions if they call for it, and make sure that you understand the consequences of your actions.
Network:2323



If something is ethical (or does not violate ethical guidelines) is always depending on the situation.
I would say sharing a book for free when it is owned by an author is not ethical in most situations.

It is not respecting the rights and investments of the author.
It is not responsible in that it does probably violate copyright laws.
It is not fair to the author/owner.
And it is not honest, as it is mostly done in hiding.

Having said this, there might be situations where not sharing also might counter some of these ethical values, and then there is an ethical dilemma.
Network:889



Thanks Lily for your insight, I just tried to keep this ethical dilemma on the surface and you gave an excellent solution, some authors can accept to a certain level, like they may accept publish the summary without just sharing the whole book, and I know many good books wrote as a review of original books and this even increase the sales of the original books.
Thanks again
Network:113308



Mohamed,

The question is very pertinent, Is it ethical? No
Is it Legal? No in most country

What is proposed by Lily could be very positive. Sharing a part, a teaser will get the potential individual to learn about the book and possibly buy it or repost getting others to learn.

On the other hand, social media are not the best example of ethic and respect. They "republish" article from major publication get the marketing revenue. Do they send money to the original publisher that help them get people online on their platform?
Network:1832



Is not a mather of ethic. Is a matter of law.
Network:644



Depends on author of institute rules and agreement if you agree with him!!!!!
Network:601



Look for the legal jargon printed in the first or last pages of the book. They often have explicit instructions regarding if and how you can share this book with others. For example, an old textbook of mine says "No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning." Based on that prohibition, I can't share this book on social media.
Network:57



Can be seen it in different facets. Sometimes sharing a book on social media will be a free marketing tool for the author himself. Thus, maybe will he get more sales.
Also, sharing a book could received constructive reviews from other authors/people that enable him to publish another better revisions.
I'm Not trying to defense 100% but sometimes we need to see the filled part of the cup... Adopting strict and rigid rules are sometimes against the law-makers.

----Personal Opinion-----
Network:2323



If something is ethical is always depending on the situation.
I would say sharing a book for free when it is owned by an author is not ethical in most situations, it probably is also illegal.

- It is not respecting the rights and investments of the author.
- It is not responsible in that it does probably violate copyright laws.
- It is not fair to the author/owner.
- And it is not honest, as it is mostly done in hiding.

Having said this, there might be situations where not sharing also might counter some of these ethical values, and then there is an ethical dilemma.
Network:2090



Thank you Mohamed for this very interesting question. I guess social media is under lots of scrutiny at the moment for so many different reasons. A non-electronic book could be shared, borrowed and even re-sold, while in the digital world, publishing terms and conditions would dictate that the digital copy is not to be shared/borrowed/sold unless the author themselves explicitly ask for the book to be shared for the benefit of the community/audience.
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