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Originally Posted by Nate the great
That could be argued both ways. If I have a paper book, do I need the permission of the copyright holder to make one partial set of photocopies of the book? Do I need the permission of the copyright holder to take a thick book, divide it into two or more parts and carry only part of the book with me?
The answer to both of these questions is no.
Now, if I can do that with a paper book I purchased, why can't I do it with an ebook I purchased? What is the difference between the paper copy and the electronic copy?
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The difference is that, with the paper book, by cutting it up, you are not creating a new book; you are doing things to the old one. When you photocopy a portion of the book, you are creating something new, but that's specifically covered by the "fair use" clause of the copyright laws.
When you convert the format of an eBook, however, you're creating another copy of the book - a "derived work" (you end up with both the original file and the new one). It would be like buying a paper book, and translating it into French, say. That's fine if it's for your personal use, but you couldn't then sell someone your translation without the author's permission. Similarly, you couldn't sell someone your format-converted e-book.
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The only difference I can tell is the so called "license". I really want to know if the license concept is actual law, or something that the general public was conned into accepting.
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The licence is very real - it is the set of rights granted to you by the copyright laws of your country.