Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Are you saying that you believe that non-DRM-protected eBooks cannot legally be re-sold, Liviu? I would have thought that it would be a similar position to, say, re-selling computer software, which is generally permitted provided that you provide all media and electronic copies to the buyer, and delete them from your own systems.
I suppose the problem with eBooks is that, unlike computer software, you don't generally get an End User Licence Agreement (EULA) which lays out what you can and can't do - it's all rather vague.
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These (license vs ownership and what it means) are very interesting questions and I have no idea about what the strict letter of the law is. I suppose technically you could resell ebooks as above, but it's not customary and there is no secondary market in econtent and I strongly believe that such a market is not going to exist. In the drm case there is no incentive for the content creator to allow transfer, in the non-drm case I just do not see it legal; sure in an individual case it may be, but I just do not see a market forming and not being shut down by courts.
Napster technically was such a market where people traded drm free music and we know what happened.
Regarding Baen, I am a big fan and active in discussions on their forums, but let us not forget that they allow the contents of their cd's to be posted for free online since ebooks are still a publicity venue first and foremost for them, and just secondary a revenue generator. I am very curious how their e-only initiatives (Universe, Grantville Gazette - though in both cases they are issuing print copies of selected content too, and misc non Baen authors like Niven & Pournelle, Lee & Miller, and various others) will come out...