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benterix parent
I have 3 rules:

1. If possible, buy from the author directly (I mostly read tech books, so that's often an option).

2. Otherwise buy from elsewhere, without DRM.

3. If all other options fail, buy from Amazon but immediately download a DRM-free copy from libgen and use that.

This is both ethical and practical.

basilikum
How is paying for a DRMed book ethical? I agree that buying a DRM free book is clearly right, but if someone is only providing a book in a way that infringes on your rights, why would you give them money for that? If someone sells a book that you want to read and you have the money to pay for it, by all means, buy it. But if you are unable to buy the book because the author decided to publish it in a way so that you cannot legally gain an actual copy of the book – opposed to limited access under the terms set by a company that they can arbitrarily alter at any time, leaving you with nothing but a pinky promise – why would you give them and, out of all the things in the world, Amazon money for that when you then have to retrieve the copy of the book you were after otherwise?
lolpython
If you buy the book on Amazon, then the author gets some money, but if you don’t buy it, then they don’t. And it’s not like you have zero alternatives, you could also just buy the physical copy in most cases. So when you say you’re unable to buy the book that’s not truthful. No one is forcing you to steal their work, you have the option to just not read their work if your distribution preferences are so specific. And the distribution terms of the book are likely set by the publisher for many authors, especially smaller ones. I doubt most authors even know what DRM is.
Random09
An alternative is to go a library, rent a book, scan it and read on a reader. You are getting the book for free without supporting greedy drm shops.

Btw, in Poland where I live, every ebook shop sells drm free books. Every single one. Why? Amazon don't sell polish books, yet kindles for the long time were the only readers available, so people had to use a cable to transfer the books. And kindle can't read any other drm than their own. So shops had no choice and it stayed that way.

So maybe a third option (not really but maybe?) is to buy polish version and use Ai to translate it?

gameshot911
Your right to buy a DRM-free book?

I put that in the same bucket as my "right" to buy your house for $1.

basilikum
Houses are physical objects. If you take it someone else has to lose it. E-Books are digital objects. You can have infinitely many copies of them without anyone losing anything.

And yes, DRM infringes on essential rights, it not only limits what you can do with something you supposedly bought, but takes away your control over your own hardware.

And even more basic is the right not to get frauded. If someone claims to be selling something to you, but then they only give you locked down, perhaps even revokable access to it, then they are defrauding you.

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