You're quite right. It's just that I've had this specific argument before, I've heard the arguments, and they're unconvincing. The first few times -- yes, I talk about this kind of thing more often than you might imagine -- it was intellectually challenging in the way you describe. Are my own points valid and reasonable? Do they bring up new points I should consider? It gets tiresome after a while, though. No one ever brings up novel ideas or even interesting ones. Every single time it's more like this:
Me: I bought a {ebook, movie, video game} the other day, and...
Unclever person: GOTCHA! You bought a license! There, do you feel better for having been corrected by my superior pedantry?
That nonsense ads nothing to the conversation except for me blocking the person as a pain in the ass if I'm on a platform where I can block people. If someone has an actual argument stronger than the Terms of Service printed in 3 point type on the back of a store behind the bathrooms, I'd love to hear it. I couldn't care less about the gotchas.
Actually: can you share the license more easily than the whole book? Then you did not buy a license either. The “license argument” is silly and contradictory.
Me: I bought a {ebook, movie, video game} the other day, and...
Unclever person: GOTCHA! You bought a license! There, do you feel better for having been corrected by my superior pedantry?
That nonsense ads nothing to the conversation except for me blocking the person as a pain in the ass if I'm on a platform where I can block people. If someone has an actual argument stronger than the Terms of Service printed in 3 point type on the back of a store behind the bathrooms, I'd love to hear it. I couldn't care less about the gotchas.