The Americans are just as bad when it comes to intellectual property (70 years after the death of the author or 95 years after publication). By American copyright standards, you can read The Silmarillion for free around 2072.

The difference in approach (American companies suing and financially ruining a select few downloaders versus European lobbyists going attempting to block the distribution points) makes piracy slightly less convenient in Europe but the basis for the copyright problem was turned into a global problem at the Berne Convention.

▲

RupertSalt 2 hours ago | parent [-]

I can read that for free, and even hang on to it for a couple of weeks, as soon as the library opens today.

Actually I don't need to wait, because it's available immediately over the Internet in eBook format, with my library card.

There are also CDs, DVDs, and on-demand audio/video available with a library card.

I visited a library across town, and many sections were given over to video games for various popular console systems.

	▲	randomNumber7 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I can access almost every book and every paper that exist in seconds over the internet... I also got a job in science and I think it's partly because I read a lot of papers (illegaly) since years.