Quote:
Originally Posted by QuantumIguana
As End User, you acknowledge that all Work furnished by Smashwords is licensed for the use of the End Users of the Site and may not be sublicensed or resold. If you purchase a work, you hold a non-exclusive, non-transferable, and non-distributable right of use. In other words, you are free to enjoy it for your own use, but you are not authorized to share, sell, or distribute the work to others.
It doesn't say anything about loaning readers. My spouse owns everything that I own, that reader and book are as much hers as mine. If someone comes over to my house, I can't hand them my Kindle at let them read? I can't see that ever standing up. Yes, restrictions on giving them a copy, certainly. But restricting someone from reading on my device, that's a little shaky.
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The terms in the SW books say "If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with." That doesn't say "unless that person is reading it on the same ereader you used." It doesn't even say, "if you would like to GIVE A COPY of this book to another person..." it mentions sharing.
"One reader at a time" is not a strong enough limit for a lot of modern publishers. They want "one reader per purchase."
I can't see it holding up in court either--but the terms at several sites indicate that
only the buyer is permitted to read the book at all, regardless of the circumstances under which it is shared. They don't say, "you're only allowed to download this onto your devices;" they say the buyer isn't allowed to share the book under any circumstances.
(No wonder YA ebooks aren't bringing in the money publishers hope for; they can't buy them themselves, and it's almost impossible for anyone to buy books for teenagers.)