[michaelmrose]

Why would you care about violating a law nobody on earth has any chance of catching you and punishing you. If you want to give money to the author you could consider seeing if they have a way to take donation/patronage or buying a physical copy. If you don't actually need the physical copy or have room for it gift it to someone and request that they gift it when they are done with it.

[Wingman4l7]

You kind of answered your own question -- it's not about the getting caught (in my opinion), it's about the ethics of the author getting compensated for their work.

[GuiA]

- try emailing the author directly, asking for a pdf/zip file in exchange for paypal payment. sometimes they can't because of their publisher, but they're often happy to.

- download the content through whatever means are most convenient for you, and paypal the author/mail the author a check. My money has never been returned :)