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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>).
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