Just to say, there's an interesting article about it here
The Ethicist - E-Book Dodge - Question - NYTimes.com
It's something I've wondered about also. I'd like to share a few examples where I think it is clearly ethical, as suggested in that article, though not always legal.
For instance I've got a hard copy of Lord of the Rings, but it is easier to find content by searching for it online, if I'm wondering where some particular thing is said in the book, because of course my hard copy hasn't got a "search function" just an index.
Sometimes I can find that in google books - because for some reason nearly all of the LOR is available in google books which has a number of different copies of it, and some of the copies for some reason have nearly all the content available to read online (while others have almost none) - I assume that is by some agreement with the Tolkien estate, but have never checked how it works. So in that case at least surely it is also legal and has the benefit you can link to the passage online.
But sometimes you can't find a legal online source.
Another example, quite often for a science blog post or quora answer, I want to check out details of a science fiction short story I read ten, or twenty years ago, which I know is in one of the anthologies of science fiction I have in a box of books up in my attic, but no idea even which box it is in, or which anthology it is (many of the anthologies are a mix of stories by different authors - and other authors like Asimov have many books of anthologies of short stories all by the same author, in either case it's likely to be a long search to find a story you read a couple of decades ago).
It's so much easier to search for it online - where often it pops up a pirated copy - than to hunt for it in my books upstairs. Also, as it happens, my attic is full of many cardboard boxes, of books, papers etc. I don't even know which box it is (after a house move).
It might be enough to just read a synopsis of the story, but maybe I need to be sure and check the original, or the detail I need to know is not mentioned in the synopsis. Is that against the law? Probably, but no chance I'm going to be prosecuted for it and can't see even the original author objecting. Is it unethical? I don't think so.
LEGALLY DOWNLOADABLE FREE VERSIONS OF CONTENT THAT COSTS TENS OR HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS ELSEWHERE
Also - just to say it might seem to follow that because you have to pay for it somewhere on the internet, that it is illegal to download it for free somewhere else in its entirety.
But that's not always the case.
A clear example here, academic papers. Often papers are behind a paywall in one place, at high prices also, often tens of dollars, occasionally some of them can be as much as hundreds of dollars each - but often (not always) the authors have permission from the publisher to put up other copies for free or to add it to open depositories of papers for free access. In publishing academic papers, the authors don't get paid anything, often have to pay to get published even in some of the most respected journals - and are keen to have as many readers of their paper as possible also - so often in this curious situation where the authors are delighted to provide their content for free, but publishers have to charge for them, otherwise they'd go out of business. And the publishers (of the more specialized journals especially) are mainly supported by the likes of academic libraries that are charged quite high prices for access to the journals, and some academics that buy them for personal use. So then often have this rather strange compromise where you pay for it at the publisher's website, but it is free everywhere else.
For instance it may be freely available for download on Xiv.org e-Print archive or on the author's own website in a list of all their research publications, or as an example I often find papers and technical reports on astronomy, etc are available for free on the NASA site, though you pay for them elsewhere. So that's another case where it is absolutely fine to download the free version of a paid for article, it's not illegal at all, you don't even have to have a hard copy yourself.
I often use the google scholar plugin for chrome to find these free versions of articles that are behind paywalls elsewhere: Google Scholar Button
Sometimes authors make their work available for free. An example, in science fiction, the Baen Ebooks free library of many entire books offered by the publisher of the books, by agreement with the authors, that are also available for sale as hard copies.
Welcome to Open Library (Open Library) - this works like a public library, bu in electronic form. They have a limited number of copies for the non free books. So you check out your copy, and while it is checked out nobody can borrow it. When you check it back in, someone else can borrow it.
See also:
Cecilia Sells' answer to What is a good website for free books?
So - though it is sometimes illegal, at other times it isn't - and in either case, personally, I don't think it is unethical to read a book or article online if you have a hard copy as well, depending on circumstances. Perhaps the law needs to catch up with ethics in this case somehow??
I'm not speaking as a lawyer of course, I have no legal training at all, never studied the law. Just sharing personal experiences :).
The Ethicist - E-Book Dodge - Question - NYTimes.com
It's something I've wondered about also. I'd like to share a few examples where I think it is clearly ethical, as suggested in that article, though not always legal.
HARD COPY BOOK DOESN'T HAVE A SEARCH FUNCTION
For instance I've got a hard copy of Lord of the Rings, but it is easier to find content by searching for it online, if I'm wondering where some particular thing is said in the book, because of course my hard copy hasn't got a "search function" just an index.
Sometimes I can find that in google books - because for some reason nearly all of the LOR is available in google books which has a number of different copies of it, and some of the copies for some reason have nearly all the content available to read online (while others have almost none) - I assume that is by some agreement with the Tolkien estate, but have never checked how it works. So in that case at least surely it is also legal and has the benefit you can link to the passage online.
But sometimes you can't find a legal online source.
CONTENT YOU HAVE BUT DON'T KNOW WHERE TO FIND IT IN YOUR HOUSE
Another example, quite often for a science blog post or quora answer, I want to check out details of a science fiction short story I read ten, or twenty years ago, which I know is in one of the anthologies of science fiction I have in a box of books up in my attic, but no idea even which box it is in, or which anthology it is (many of the anthologies are a mix of stories by different authors - and other authors like Asimov have many books of anthologies of short stories all by the same author, in either case it's likely to be a long search to find a story you read a couple of decades ago).
It's so much easier to search for it online - where often it pops up a pirated copy - than to hunt for it in my books upstairs. Also, as it happens, my attic is full of many cardboard boxes, of books, papers etc. I don't even know which box it is (after a house move).
It might be enough to just read a synopsis of the story, but maybe I need to be sure and check the original, or the detail I need to know is not mentioned in the synopsis. Is that against the law? Probably, but no chance I'm going to be prosecuted for it and can't see even the original author objecting. Is it unethical? I don't think so.
LEGALLY DOWNLOADABLE FREE VERSIONS OF CONTENT THAT COSTS TENS OR HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS ELSEWHERE
Also - just to say it might seem to follow that because you have to pay for it somewhere on the internet, that it is illegal to download it for free somewhere else in its entirety.
But that's not always the case.
A clear example here, academic papers. Often papers are behind a paywall in one place, at high prices also, often tens of dollars, occasionally some of them can be as much as hundreds of dollars each - but often (not always) the authors have permission from the publisher to put up other copies for free or to add it to open depositories of papers for free access. In publishing academic papers, the authors don't get paid anything, often have to pay to get published even in some of the most respected journals - and are keen to have as many readers of their paper as possible also - so often in this curious situation where the authors are delighted to provide their content for free, but publishers have to charge for them, otherwise they'd go out of business. And the publishers (of the more specialized journals especially) are mainly supported by the likes of academic libraries that are charged quite high prices for access to the journals, and some academics that buy them for personal use. So then often have this rather strange compromise where you pay for it at the publisher's website, but it is free everywhere else.
For instance it may be freely available for download on Xiv.org e-Print archive or on the author's own website in a list of all their research publications, or as an example I often find papers and technical reports on astronomy, etc are available for free on the NASA site, though you pay for them elsewhere. So that's another case where it is absolutely fine to download the free version of a paid for article, it's not illegal at all, you don't even have to have a hard copy yourself.
GOOGLE SCHOLAR CHROME PLUGIN TO SEARCH FOR FREE PDFS OF ACADEMIC PAPERS
I often use the google scholar plugin for chrome to find these free versions of articles that are behind paywalls elsewhere: Google Scholar Button
OTHER SOURCES OF LEGAL FREE BOOKS
Sometimes authors make their work available for free. An example, in science fiction, the Baen Ebooks free library of many entire books offered by the publisher of the books, by agreement with the authors, that are also available for sale as hard copies.
Welcome to Open Library (Open Library) - this works like a public library, bu in electronic form. They have a limited number of copies for the non free books. So you check out your copy, and while it is checked out nobody can borrow it. When you check it back in, someone else can borrow it.
See also:
Cecilia Sells' answer to What is a good website for free books?
SUMMARY
So - though it is sometimes illegal, at other times it isn't - and in either case, personally, I don't think it is unethical to read a book or article online if you have a hard copy as well, depending on circumstances. Perhaps the law needs to catch up with ethics in this case somehow??
I'm not speaking as a lawyer of course, I have no legal training at all, never studied the law. Just sharing personal experiences :).
About the Author
Robert Walker
Writer of articles on Mars and Space issues - Software Developer of Tune Smithy, Bounce Metronome etc.Studied at Wolfson College, Oxford
Lives in Isle of Mull
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