E-Book Exchange

sherbearjt08 · 01-14-2010, 10:34 AM

I had a thought in the middle of the night last night. There is a website called bookmooch.com - where you can go in a list books you want to get rid off and you get points for that, and you can search for books you want and "mooch" them off other people. You pay for the shipping handling of books that you ship out to other people. It's really great if you are like me and read a book one time.

Would that work for ebooks too? Or is there some type of proprietary legal issue that would prevent us from doing that and emailing files around?

Just a thought.

Rob G. · 01-14-2010, 10:46 AM

Yeah. Like the idea of a used eBook market, as the law stands, this seems to be illegal, at least in the US. IANAL but the way I understand it, with eBooks, you are buying a non-transferable license to use that eBook file, not the file itself. Unlike a pBook, you don't have the same secondary sale rights rights.

Aside from that, most of the eBooks for sale have DRM tying the purchase to an account. The only way around that would be to strip the DRM which, again, is considered illegal in the US.

calvin-c · 01-14-2010, 11:55 AM

Mostly legality depends on how a judge interprets a law-and there's no good way, in the US, to get a decision on something that you plan to do. You need to go ahead & do it, be accused of breaking the law, and only then will a judge make a decision-and if he decides you did break the law, you're hung.

If you want an opinion as to whether or not something you plan to do is legal, you consult a lawyer-and hope that the judge will agree with him. (That's part of the problem-the judges don't even agree with each other, at first. Only over time does a consensus emerge as to how the law should be interpreted-so the first people to do something questionable are always taking a chance.)

IMO it's usually legal to transfer the file, but as Rob noted DRM usually renders the transferred file useless. And stripping the DRM for you own use is also usually legal-but transferring the stripped file isn't. (They call it distributing, even if you only transfer it to one person & don't keep a copy yourself.)

sherbearjt08 · 01-14-2010, 12:02 PM

I have a large legal background, I was just curious to know if anyone else had thought of something like that. Thanks.

Kali Yuga · 01-14-2010, 12:41 PM

If the books are protected via DRM, any such system has to be handled by the vendor. There's no room for a 3rd party service in that respect.

If you try to strip the DRM, you will not be able to enact your system without likely running afoul of the DMCA or being accused of piracy, unauthorized duplication or sale, and so forth.

If the books are not protected via DRM (or if you stripped the DRM), there is no longer any enforcement mechanism, so the idea of "trading" is rather superfluous. I.e. I could just send you the file without wiping it out from my machine; there is no protection, so no real reason for me to do anything other than just give it to you.

01-14-2010, 10:34 AM	#1
sherbearjt08 Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: PRS-300	E-Book Exchange I had a thought in the middle of the night last night. There is a website called bookmooch.com - where you can go in a list books you want to get rid off and you get points for that, and you can search for books you want and "mooch" them off other people. You pay for the shipping handling of books that you ship out to other people. It's really great if you are like me and read a book one time. Would that work for ebooks too? Or is there some type of proprietary legal issue that would prevent us from doing that and emailing files around? Just a thought.

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01-14-2010, 10:46 AM	#2
Rob G. Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 160 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Kindle DX	Yeah. Like the idea of a used eBook market, as the law stands, this seems to be illegal, at least in the US. IANAL but the way I understand it, with eBooks, you are buying a non-transferable license to use that eBook file, not the file itself. Unlike a pBook, you don't have the same secondary sale rights rights. Aside from that, most of the eBooks for sale have DRM tying the purchase to an account. The only way around that would be to strip the DRM which, again, is considered illegal in the US.

01-14-2010, 11:55 AM	#3
calvin-c Guru Posts: 787 Karma: 1575310 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Moon+ Pro	Mostly legality depends on how a judge interprets a law-and there's no good way, in the US, to get a decision on something that you plan to do. You need to go ahead & do it, be accused of breaking the law, and only then will a judge make a decision-and if he decides you did break the law, you're hung. If you want an opinion as to whether or not something you plan to do is legal, you consult a lawyer-and hope that the judge will agree with him. (That's part of the problem-the judges don't even agree with each other, at first. Only over time does a consensus emerge as to how the law should be interpreted-so the first people to do something questionable are always taking a chance.) IMO it's usually legal to transfer the file, but as Rob noted DRM usually renders the transferred file useless. And stripping the DRM for you own use is also usually legal-but transferring the stripped file isn't. (They call it distributing, even if you only transfer it to one person & don't keep a copy yourself.)

01-14-2010, 12:02 PM	#4
sherbearjt08 Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: PRS-300	I have a large legal background, I was just curious to know if anyone else had thought of something like that. Thanks.

01-14-2010, 12:41 PM	#5
Kali Yuga Professional Contrarian Posts: 2,045 Karma: 3289631 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 4 No Touchie	If the books are protected via DRM, any such system has to be handled by the vendor. There's no room for a 3rd party service in that respect. If you try to strip the DRM, you will not be able to enact your system without likely running afoul of the DMCA or being accused of piracy, unauthorized duplication or sale, and so forth. If the books are not protected via DRM (or if you stripped the DRM), there is no longer any enforcement mechanism, so the idea of "trading" is rather superfluous. I.e. I could just send you the file without wiping it out from my machine; there is no protection, so no real reason for me to do anything other than just give it to you.

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