PLEASE HELP

andreibest · 03-08-2011, 10:15 PM

Is it legal to convert ebooks that have full resale rights and can be given away for free to Epub and Mobi and posted on my site?

stickybuns · 03-08-2011, 10:27 PM

Are you asking if it's legal to convert and then give away books that are in the public domain? Yes, provided that you are located in a country where the book is actually considered to be in the public domain as copyright laws vary from country to country.

Or, are you asking if its OK to convert and give away an ebook that you've found posted for free elsewhere? Maybe, maybe not. Is the book in the public domain? Is there a Creative Commons License that explicitly gives permission for redistribution? Then sure.

But, just because a book is free or is not DRM restricted, doesn't mean that copyright is not still in effect. The copyright holder may be posting the free ebook to generate traffic (and sales for paid ebooks) to his/her website.

There's probably other scenarios, but these are what come to mind for me.

andreibest · 03-08-2011, 10:47 PM

thanks for your reply. Well most eBooks with resale rights have what you can and can not do, but none of them say whether your allowed to convert them into different formats. If it says you can give away the book for free does that mean i can convert it aswell or is there other ways i can find out if i can or can not?

andreibest · 03-08-2011, 10:49 PM

for exaple the book im looking at now says
• You have full master resell rights to this product.
• You MAY resell this product and give master resale rights to your customers.
• You MAY offer this product as a bonus to a PAID product.
• You MAY include this product on a FREE or PAID membership site.
• You MAY give this product away for free.
• You May sell this product or give it away on Ebay or any other auction site.
Can i convert this kind of eBook and post on my site and if so what "MAY" part allowes me to do so? Thanks

Worldwalker · 03-08-2011, 10:54 PM

The person you really need to ask is the author or other rights owner of the book. The best anyone here can offer is really just a guess.

Also, it's really not polite to SHOUT.

astra · 03-09-2011, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andreibest

Is it legal to convert ebooks that have full resale rights and can be given away for free to Epub and Mobi and posted on my site?

Why not to ask the owner?

andreibest · 03-09-2011, 07:44 AM

because if i ask the owner of each eBook, it will take me years to fill up my site? If it says on the book i can give it away for free does that mean i can convert it as well?

pdurrant · 03-09-2011, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andreibest

because if i ask the owner of each eBook, it will take me years to fill up my site? If it says on the book i can give it away for free does that mean i can convert it as well?

No. If the the book is in copyright, you only have the rights granted you by the copyright holder. If that doesn't include the right to convert to other formats, you may not do so.

IMO, this is a reasonable restriction. Consider: I want to promote my books as well-written, well-formatted ebooks. So I give one of them away free, and I allow anyone else to also give away copies for free. I would not want someone to do a poor conversion to a different ebook format and distribute that new conversion, as it might reflect badly on my other ebooks — good publicity would be turned into bad publicity.

If the the book is in copyright, you only have the rights granted you by the copyright holder.

TGS · 03-09-2011, 08:05 AM

I'd take a guess that the OP is asking about one of the "ebook reselling" schemes that promise to make you money. I had a look at a couple and cannot find anything about what rights one is buying other than sentences like

Quote:

All ebooks are only $2 to $3 and come with FREE master ebook resell rights which means you can resell ebooks yourself at no additional cost. Plus, many ebooks come with complete promotional material to make marketing even easier!

Books may be in PDF format, .exe files, or text files one is informed - which are really rubbish formats on the whole. Personally I would not feel constrained to not format shift.

GeoffC · 03-09-2011, 08:13 AM

Welcome to Mobileread, by the way .... andreibest

andreibest · 03-09-2011, 09:05 AM

How do i find out whether the book is copyrighted is it when there is a copy wright sigh at the bottom of each page and if there is i cant convert it? And no im asking whether i can convert books with re-sale rights and post them on my site so that people can download them for free

pdurrant · 03-09-2011, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andreibest

How do i find out whether the book is copyrighted

Who wrote it? When did they die? If you're in the US, when was it first published? If between 1923 and 1963 and you're in the US, was the copyright renewed?

If the author died before 1st January 1941, it's no longer in copyright in most of the world.
If it was first published before 1923 in the US, it's no longer in copyright in the US

Determining copyright can be complex.

Worldwalker · 03-09-2011, 11:09 AM

Andrei, first of all, please take enough time to write that you can press the "shift" key when needed, and check your spelling. It will make things much easier for the people you're asking to help you.

As to your books, we can't give you an answer. We don't have the books in front of us. We don't even know what their titles are. We don't know when they were written, nor by whom, nor what rights were and are transferred under what circumstances. All we know is that there's some guy who has some ebooks -- and we can't provide any sort of definitive answer about "some ebooks".

However, here's something very important to think about: It's highly unlikely that you are going to make much, if any, money from ebooks. If they're pirated, why would anyone pay you when they can get them free, and people who want pirated books know exactly where to go? If they're public domain, why would anyone pay you when they can get them free, starting with right here on MobileRead, or pay their favorite device-linked bookstore for them? If they're under copyright, they're either already for sale somewhere (a major bookstore, Smashwords, etc.) and it's unlikely the owners would want to add you to their vendors, or they're not for sale anywhere because they're crap, and word will quickly spread that you don't have anything worth paying for. Some combination of these might even be true. But there's no combination that winds up with people giving you money for ... well, much of anything.

While this may change in the future, ebook readers are still in the "early adopter" phase right now. People who buy ebook readers buy them because they have ebooks they want to read -- they already know about the books, and have selected where they want to get them, and just need a device to read them on. While a few get them as gifts, most people don't go buy an ebook reader and then start looking around for something to read with it. It's very much the other way around. The egg, in this case, comes well before the chicken.

Whether a book is currently in copyright depends in some combination on the date of publication, the longevity of the author, and what country the reader is in. For most even moderately recent books, no copyright notice is required; a work is automatically copyrighted from the moment it is "fixed" -- that is, written down. The odds are fairly good that for the books you're dealing with, the answer is "yes". So the next question is what rights you have -- that is, what rights you bought when you bought the books. For that, you'll have to check with whoever you bought them from, or with the sale contract you got when you bought them. If you have no contract, and there's no notice giving you certain rights, then you don't have them. But again, that's something people here can't address, because we don't have the books or their documentation, and you do.

andreibest · 03-09-2011, 11:41 AM

I have a site where people can download eBooks for free, not pay for them. And the eBooks i have bought all have master resale rights and i can also give them away for free and most of them have been published in the 21st Century. I cant really tell you all the eBooks that i have because ill be here for days naming them all and also i cat ask every owner as this will take too long, also most of these eBooks are on internet marketing, promotion and so on. But I'm guessing if the eBook can be given away for free they don't really mind what i do with it and converting them into mobi format is better for them because there eBooks will be converted into different formats with out them paying anything? Also I'm from England does the same thing apply to England about if the author died before 1st January 1941, it's no longer in copyright and i can convert the eBooks?

Hellmark · 03-09-2011, 12:06 PM

Resale rights, but is it where you can have right of first sale (IE, sell to the next person, but you no longer possess it after that), or give it away indefinitely. Most ebooks, if they allow resale (even if for no cost), you're limited to only once.

I really doubt you're allowed to just give copies away indefinitely, unless you have prior written permission from the author or publisher (usually you'd have to go through the publisher).

Pretty much, only time you'd be allowed to do what you want is if it is licensed creative commons or in the public domain. You have to find out that first. You simply saying you cannot isn't a good enough excuse.

03-08-2011, 10:15 PM	#1
andreibest Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: kindle	PLEASE HELP Is it legal to convert ebooks that have full resale rights and can be given away for free to Epub and Mobi and posted on my site?

03-08-2011, 10:27 PM	#2
stickybuns Evangelist Posts: 405 Karma: 479729 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Kindle 3, Kindle Paperwhite 2	Are you asking if it's legal to convert and then give away books that are in the public domain? Yes, provided that you are located in a country where the book is actually considered to be in the public domain as copyright laws vary from country to country. Or, are you asking if its OK to convert and give away an ebook that you've found posted for free elsewhere? Maybe, maybe not. Is the book in the public domain? Is there a Creative Commons License that explicitly gives permission for redistribution? Then sure. But, just because a book is free or is not DRM restricted, doesn't mean that copyright is not still in effect. The copyright holder may be posting the free ebook to generate traffic (and sales for paid ebooks) to his/her website. There's probably other scenarios, but these are what come to mind for me.

03-08-2011, 10:47 PM	#3
andreibest Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: kindle	thanks for your reply. Well most eBooks with resale rights have what you can and can not do, but none of them say whether your allowed to convert them into different formats. If it says you can give away the book for free does that mean i can convert it aswell or is there other ways i can find out if i can or can not?

03-08-2011, 10:49 PM	#4
andreibest Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: kindle	for exaple the book im looking at now says • You have full master resell rights to this product. • You MAY resell this product and give master resale rights to your customers. • You MAY offer this product as a bonus to a PAID product. • You MAY include this product on a FREE or PAID membership site. • You MAY give this product away for free. • You May sell this product or give it away on Ebay or any other auction site. Can i convert this kind of eBook and post on my site and if so what "MAY" part allowes me to do so? Thanks

03-08-2011, 10:54 PM	#5
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	The person you really need to ask is the author or other rights owner of the book. The best anyone here can offer is really just a guess. Also, it's really not polite to SHOUT.

03-09-2011, 07:44 AM	#7
andreibest Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: kindle	because if i ask the owner of each eBook, it will take me years to fill up my site? If it says on the book i can give it away for free does that mean i can convert it as well?

03-09-2011, 08:13 AM	#10
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	Welcome to Mobileread, by the way .... andreibest

03-09-2011, 09:05 AM	#11
andreibest Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: kindle	How do i find out whether the book is copyrighted is it when there is a copy wright sigh at the bottom of each page and if there is i cant convert it? And no im asking whether i can convert books with re-sale rights and post them on my site so that people can download them for free

03-09-2011, 11:09 AM	#13
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	Andrei, first of all, please take enough time to write that you can press the "shift" key when needed, and check your spelling. It will make things much easier for the people you're asking to help you. As to your books, we can't give you an answer. We don't have the books in front of us. We don't even know what their titles are. We don't know when they were written, nor by whom, nor what rights were and are transferred under what circumstances. All we know is that there's some guy who has some ebooks -- and we can't provide any sort of definitive answer about "some ebooks". However, here's something very important to think about: It's highly unlikely that you are going to make much, if any, money from ebooks. If they're pirated, why would anyone pay you when they can get them free, and people who want pirated books know exactly where to go? If they're public domain, why would anyone pay you when they can get them free, starting with right here on MobileRead, or pay their favorite device-linked bookstore for them? If they're under copyright, they're either already for sale somewhere (a major bookstore, Smashwords, etc.) and it's unlikely the owners would want to add you to their vendors, or they're not for sale anywhere because they're crap, and word will quickly spread that you don't have anything worth paying for. Some combination of these might even be true. But there's no combination that winds up with people giving you money for ... well, much of anything. While this may change in the future, ebook readers are still in the "early adopter" phase right now. People who buy ebook readers buy them because they have ebooks they want to read -- they already know about the books, and have selected where they want to get them, and just need a device to read them on. While a few get them as gifts, most people don't go buy an ebook reader and then start looking around for something to read with it. It's very much the other way around. The egg, in this case, comes well before the chicken. Whether a book is currently in copyright depends in some combination on the date of publication, the longevity of the author, and what country the reader is in. For most even moderately recent books, no copyright notice is required; a work is automatically copyrighted from the moment it is "fixed" -- that is, written down. The odds are fairly good that for the books you're dealing with, the answer is "yes". So the next question is what rights you have -- that is, what rights you bought when you bought the books. For that, you'll have to check with whoever you bought them from, or with the sale contract you got when you bought them. If you have no contract, and there's no notice giving you certain rights, then you don't have them. But again, that's something people here can't address, because we don't have the books or their documentation, and you do.

03-09-2011, 11:41 AM	#14
andreibest Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: kindle	I have a site where people can download eBooks for free, not pay for them. And the eBooks i have bought all have master resale rights and i can also give them away for free and most of them have been published in the 21st Century. I cant really tell you all the eBooks that i have because ill be here for days naming them all and also i cat ask every owner as this will take too long, also most of these eBooks are on internet marketing, promotion and so on. But I'm guessing if the eBook can be given away for free they don't really mind what i do with it and converting them into mobi format is better for them because there eBooks will be converted into different formats with out them paying anything? Also I'm from England does the same thing apply to England about if the author died before 1st January 1941, it's no longer in copyright and i can convert the eBooks?

03-09-2011, 12:06 PM	#15
Hellmark Wizard Posts: 2,549 Karma: 3799999 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: O'Fallon, Missouri, USA Device: Nokia N800, PRS-505, Nook STR Glowlight, Kindle 3	Resale rights, but is it where you can have right of first sale (IE, sell to the next person, but you no longer possess it after that), or give it away indefinitely. Most ebooks, if they allow resale (even if for no cost), you're limited to only once. I really doubt you're allowed to just give copies away indefinitely, unless you have prior written permission from the author or publisher (usually you'd have to go through the publisher). Pretty much, only time you'd be allowed to do what you want is if it is licensed creative commons or in the public domain. You have to find out that first. You simply saying you cannot isn't a good enough excuse.

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