I'm coming late to this debate, but I do think it's an important one. I think it's worth pointing a finger of blame here at governments in developed countries, most of which have failed miserably to modernise and enforce their copyright laws. And this is the reason why many otherwise law-abiding people seem to have a blind spot when it comes to digital theft.

The ebook debate is in its infancy, but it's instructive to study the music and video industries. Way back when the video cassette recorder was at the cutting edge of technology, people used to swap video tapes all the time. If you missed an episode of your favourite programme, you went into the office the next day and got a tape from someone who had recorded it.

This was unlawful (I'm talking about UK law here). But everyone did it. No one was ever prosecuted. Why? Because no court in the land would ever find someone guilty of a crime, and the copyright holders knew it.

Fast-forward a few years, and people started making copies of their music CDs for personal use, as MP3s, or CD copies for the car, or whatever. Again entirely illegal. No prosecutions. Same reason. In fact, in the UK at least, the music companies have said that they will not prosecute people for copying their own CDs. Because they know it would be a waste of time.

Going back to video: if you miss a TV programme these days, instead of borrowing a tape from a friend, you might go to a dodgy web site to download a copy (presuming it's not available on legal web sites such as iPlayer). Unlawful? Yes, just like the VHS tape. But the web site offers infinite numbers of copies of many programmes, so the potential economic impact is far greater. Copyright holders have a right to object.

The real problem here is that, in the UK at least, the copyright law is so out of date. The only protection given to consumers as far as making copies of copyrighted works is concerned is the right to record TV programmes to watch later, for their own use only. That's it. And that law is more than 20 years old. And because the government has failed to produce modern laws based on principles of fair use, people are making it up for themselves as they go along. That blurs the debate. Modernise the law, then go after the digital thieves with all guns blazing.