About copying downloads
The topic of copying and copyrights is one that has puzzled many students and we receive questions about copying from time to time.
Small organizations such as Pariyatti do rely on sales of the various books, CDs, DVDs, etc., to keep operating. We spend money for many things:
- to produce and package these CDs and DVDs,
- to maintain our website where you and your friends can order them,
- to employ other meditators to fill your order and ship it to you,
- to rent and maintain offices and a warehouse where the stock is kept.
Without money we would have to close shop, and there would then be nowhere to get access to the recordings that you value. In fact, this was the case in North America before Pariyatti started years ago (see Pariyatti History).
While we have no way actually to enforce a copyright if someone wants to make a personal copy, we encourage people to understand that, by purchasing items rather than copying, they are supporting this service. If it didn't exist, there would be little or no way for you or anyone else to obtain these things.
In addition to the obvious financial reasons for honoring copyrights, there are important legal reasons as well. Some students have the impression that "Dhamma should be free for everyone; no rights restriction should be imposed; no money should be charged." However, we have learned long ago that, unless there is an assertion of copyright, some people will take Goenkaji's writings and recordings and use them for their own purposes, even twisting his words out of context so they do not represent what he originally said. It has happened, sadly, and there was nothing that could be done to control the damage. So now we copyright everything, but maintain a liberal attitude to granting licenses for use in a way that really helps people to understand and practice Dhamma.
No one wants to place hurdles in the way of anyone seeking Dhamma. But Pariyatti feels an important responsibility to make sure that, whatever we agree to distribute, we do so in the proper way and under the terms of whatever contracts we have entered into. We have a very strong commitment to an honest adherence to the agreements we make and we ask our customers not to place us in a position of having to "ignore" their transgressions. Therefore we do not condone copying without permission.
In addition to these valid but rather businesslike reasons for having copyrights and for encouraging people to purchase, there is the further consideration of the ethical effects of this copying that so many people are so widely engaged in these days. The internet and all the digital content that it carries have created a culture that increasingly makes people feel entitled to any and all things digital, free of charge. But some things are not free. They cost money to create and they are not offered free of charge. When someone makes copies, he or she may feel, "What harm; who loses if I share this audio file?" At a gross level this may seem harmless but, in fact, the person who takes what is not given has weakened the very foundation upon which he hopes to build. It seems especially counterproductive when someone steals Dhamma content in some way.
Happily, Pariyatti has experienced so little in the way of bounced checks, credit card fraud, and shoplifting over the years—the usual forms of stealing that most businesses face constantly—that we never even consider that someone who is interested in what we sell—books and audio/video recordings of Dhamma—would do such a thing. Yet, oddly, in this one area of copying for others, there is often little thought given to the ethical effects of this action.
Pariyatti is aware of the issues involved in the digital culture of the internet. We are trying to offer without charge what we can by providing Group Sittings free of charge, free podcasts, and our Daily Words of the Buddha feature, and by empowering a group of volunteers to help us make valuable public-domain literature available in our Treasures of Pariyatti series. We continue to increase the number of download products, giving cheaper versions of many of our products.
Pariyatti asks you to respect the financial, legal, and ethical results of your actions, pertaining to these digital materials. We hope this has helped explain the fairly complex issue of copying and copyrights. In short, Pariyatti does not condone copying copyrighted material:
- For simple financial reasons
- For the more complex legal reason that it is our duty to uphold the copyrights of which we are the steward, and
- For the most fundamental reason that it constitutes a moral hazard to the user who blithely ignores the intention of the author or owner of a copyright.
With best wishes,
Pariyatti