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Originally Posted by Elfwreck
Defined how? Legal residence of the buyer? Current location of the buyer? The location of the computer she's logged into at the time of purchase...?
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In the US, it's based on the location (residence) of the buyer. I may be wrong, but afaik if you have a US credit card and a US address, you should not have a problem purchasing electronic goods outside the US.
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Originally Posted by Elfwreck
If a person who lives in France is vacationing in the US, she can buy pbooks that aren't sold in France. While she's there, can she buy ebooks that aren't sold in France? If not, why not? If yes, how?
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If she is a US resident with a US residence, yes she should be able to purchase digital goods from the US. The only real issue would be delivery, e.g. a 3g ebook device that doesn't work outside the US.
If she resides in Paris, is a US citizen, does not have a US address, and does not have a US credit card, then she will have a problem.
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Originally Posted by Elfwreck
Can she visit a US embassy in France and buy US ebooks there?
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If she's a tourist, that won't be necessary.
If she's a US citizen but a Parisian resident, then no, unless her residence is the US embassy.
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Originally Posted by Elfwreck
Geo restrictions are a *mess.*
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Meaning what, exactly? That 30 years ago, authors and publishers should have realized that international methods of delivery would cost nothing and take seconds, and should have adjusted their contracts to suit? Or perhaps that no country should charge any sort of sales taxes or VAT for digital goods?
Besides, the real issue is not "geographic restrictions." It's
availability. As soon as more titles become available in digital form -- which is inevitable as ebooks capture more market share -- the complaints will be mitigated.
I might add, it would likely take
longer for every nation to agree to some sort of international tax treaty than it will for publishers to fix title availability issues.
