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+title = "Ownership in the digital age"
+author = ["Michał Sapka"]
+date = 2023-12-08T23:00:00+01:00
+categories = ["blog", "update"]
+draft = false
+weight = 3001
+abstract = "Digital economy has taken over and with this we need to reevaluate what it means to actually own something. In this article I try to present my definition of ownership and what results from it."
+aliases = ["/articles/digital-ownership"]
++++
+
+It is often said that you can't own anything unless you have a physical thing in your hand.
+So, any digital purchase is not ownership.
+A Blu-ray is.
+
+> ... And in the case of "Oppenheimer", we put a lot of care and attention into the Blu-ray version […] and trying to translate the photography and the sound, putting that into the digital realm with a version you can buy and own at home and put on a shelf so no evil streaming service can come steal it from you. ...  \\
+> Christopher Nolan
+
+This made me wonder and the longer I thought, the less I could agree.
+The simple fact that you own the carrier does not necessary mean that you own the content.
+
+
+## 1. What it means to own something? {#1-dot-what-it-means-to-own-something}
+
+Here are a few questions I asked myself to get to that conclusion
+
+-   **Can you access it?**
+
+This is simple.
+I have paid for it, can I access it assuming all requirements are fulfilled?
+If not, this is a scam.
+
+-   **Does it require subscription?**
+
+Do I need to pay again to use it?
+Case in point: any SASS.
+You don't own any Netflix content.
+
+-   **Can you run it locally?**
+
+I have paid for it. Can I run (play) it on my local machine?
+Or is the provider infrastructure needed?
+Example: any cloud software.
+You can't run Notion on your machine.
+
+-   **Can someone take it from you?**
+
+Can someone block me from accessing it?
+Case in point: Amazon removing copy of _1984_ from Kindles[^1984].
+Note, that the situation where law enforcement or judge can take it from you is completely valid.
+We have a different relation with governments than with private companies.
+
+-   **Are there any locked features?**
+
+Are there features provider can use, but you can not?
+You need to _hack_ your android device to gain root privileges.
+
+-   **Can you sell it?**
+
+Can I sell my copy?
+You can't sell previously bought game on Steam[^steam-acc].
+
+-   **Can you back it up**
+
+Can I create a copy in case of breaking the original?
+Disks can break and data stored on them can rot.
+You can't back up Blu-ray without defeating DRM mechanisms.
+This is the first moment I disagree with Nolan.
+
+-   **Can you copy it?**
+
+Can you create an identical copy?
+It's a digital entity, so identical copy is the easiest out there.
+I don't mention selling here, just to create a copy.
+Again, Blu-ray with DRM block copying.
+
+-   **Can you borrow it?**
+
+Can I borrow it to a friend?
+You can borrow a Blu-ray, but not a Kindle book or PSN game.
+
+-   **Can you access it on wide range of devices?**
+
+Can I access it on a device fulfilling technical requirements?
+I don't expect to run an TRS-80 game on PlayStation 5, but why can't I play my DVD bought in Europe after traveling to North America?
+Ergo, any DRM "secured" digital good is not owned.
+
+-   **Can you modify it?**
+
+Can you change the home screen layout of iPhone outside what the designers provided?
+
+-   **Can you repair it?**
+
+A bit self-explanatory.
+Can you repair your MacBook assuming you have the skills required?
+What about the Windows copy you use?
+
+[^1984]: [Some E-Books Are More Equal Than Others](https://archive.nytimes.com/pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/some-e-books-are-more-equal-than-others/)
+[^steam-acc]: I know that people sell entire Steam accounts with games, but this is bypassing the no-sell policy; not a feature.
+
+Nowadays, it's almost impossible to make a transition regarding a digital good which would tick most of those ticks.
+Back before everything went digital it would be difficult to find cases which **wouldn't**.
+Not all of them, as it would be difficult to copy a refrigerator (but not impossible) but the sentiment remains.
+It used to be that owner was able to exercise much broader freedom of usage.
+
+
+## 2. Impact of ownership on my perceived value {#2-dot-impact-of-ownership-on-my-perceived-value}
+
+As I've hopefully explained before, almost all digital goods on the mark don't fall into "possible to own" category.
+But if we pay for it, where does it leave us?
+I needed a word to define the result of transaction which does not pass ownership.
+And there is such word: _rent_.
+
+Renting was always there.
+I would rent videotape for a local rental.
+I would rent a book from local library.
+I would rent a car from car rental company.
+None of these were ever considered a _purchase_, because why would we?
+I paid for access, but whatever I rented was still owned by the other party.
+
+This is not the exact case as with the primary subject here.
+I am lured to believe that I own "my digital purchase" because the timeframe is not defined upfront.
+Therefore, I think of a Steam, Amazon, PSN, iTunes "purchase" as indefinite renal.
+I may lose access at any moment[^sony], I just don't know when.
+It may happen due to multitude of reasons: the company may go bankrupt, the license may expire[^sony], my account may become blocked[^sony2], or the company may pull out and close the service[^google].
+[^sony]: [PlayStation is erasing 1,318 seasons of Discovery shows from customer libraries](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/12/playstation-is-erasing-1318-seasons-of-discovery-shows-from-customer-libraries/). Seriously.
+[^sony2]: [Several PlayStation users locked out of their accounts, get permanent suspension message from Sony](https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/several-playstation-users-locked-out-of-their-accounts-get-permanent-suspension-message-from-sony-2472107-2023-12-05)
+[^google]: [The End of Google Stadia](https://www.wired.com/story/google-stadia-shutting-down-phil-harrison/)
+
+The wording here is exact: I may _loose access_. Yup, this is what I mean when I think of renting.
+
+There was, however, one huge benefit of renting when compared to buying: the price.
+It was always much cheaper to rent a move than buy one.
+It made perfect sense.
+I was able to watch a rented movie for a few days, and then return it.
+The renter would invest in purchase, I would pay a small amount and the world would still do its thing.
+
+In the digital age this gain is no longer valid.
+When renting becomes the only option, there is no reason to offer it cheaper than ownership.
+And therefore renting of digital goods is expensive.
+
+Too expensive.
+If we start to think that the "buy" button actually means "rent", that $60 shiny new game stops making so much sense.
+
+
+## 3. Digital scarcity {#3-dot-digital-scarcity}
+
+But since it is commonly understood as "purchase", then companies can try to use our collecting impulses.
+And they are strong, just look at any random tech channel.
+People want to collect, and to put things in their collections.
+
+Steam library is often a reason to brag about.
+I have a thousand games they say!
+I played 10, but I have 1000!
+
+And so there are preorders.
+Get you digital purchase early, be the first to own it.
+Get **rare** add-ons (as if anything digital can be rare).
+Pay extra for super-duper version with limited horse armor (nothing stops them from releasing the bonus content later on).
+
+The idea come from olden days, where getting stuff soon may have been the only way to actually get it.
+If it's vinyl record they are selling, they indeed may run of it.
+If it's download, the only way to stop next person from it is greed.
+
+
+## 4. "My" page {#4-dot-my-page}
+
+A special mention goes to Facebook with their brilliant "My page" marketing.
+"Visit our Facebook page" is what I often see and hear.
+And yet there nothing "theirs" on that page except of content, to which right were transferred to Meta the moment someone hit "send".
+This is (still) free, but using the "My" word is further eroding the meaning of ownership.
+Please, don't.
+
+
+## 5 The pirate in the room {#5-the-pirate-in-the-room}
+
+And now the sad part: the closest way to own digitual stuff  warez[^dmca].
+Crackers, in order to bypass the DRM mechanism (now called jail breaking) need to remove limitations enforced on the end user.
+You can copy a pirated game, you can borrow it, you can modify it, you can archive it.
+It's more _yours_ than the biggest of Steam libraries.
+
+[^dmca]: My views on DMCA are not part of this article. Someday I'll write one and get banned from Google.
+
+
+## 6. Conclusion {#6-dot-conclusion}
+
+Where does this leave me?
+I can't change anything and the transformation to digital-renting of everything is here to stay.
+Everyone wants me to rent to something - be it streaming service, or a car company.
+
+However, when I stopped thinking that I can actually own anything, my perceived value of digital stuff couldn't be lower.
+I may drop a few bucks for a digital-download.
+But above that?
+Hard sell.
+
+Meaning of words change over time, and they always had.
+The definition of "ownership" was clear but no longer is.
+The word can mean any financial transaction or be nothing more than marketing ploy.
+You can have zero ownership (Netflix), a bit of it (PSN), a lot of it (GOG[^gog]).
+And this gradation correlates my interest of doing business.
+I'll ****gladly**** pay an author for a DRM-free PDF of their book if I can download it.
+I'll happily buy a DRM-free game from GOG.
+
+But below that level of purchasing? Well, I can either skip it completely or think of other ways of obtaining it.
+
+[^gog]: [GOG 2022 update #2: our commitment to DRM-free gaming](<https://www.gog.com/news/bgog_2022_update_2b_our_commitment_to_drmfree_gaming>).