Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Lister
I don't think the issue is transferring to another owner, the issue is the necessity of circumventing the DRM to accommodate that transfer. That's where the legal issue comes in.
Form one source: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 states that "no person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under [copyright law]."
And that's exactly what you'd have to do to transfer it unless your license distributor (Amazon, B&N, etc.) otherwise accommodates you.
I know there are previous court cases that upheld this statute. I think there are recent court cases undermine it a bit in certain circumstances (i.e. jailbreaking).
Regardless, the current legal standing is clear: illegal.
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DMCA only applies in the US, which probably applies to the OP, but there is a whole wide world where it doesn't. Given recent developments regarding game software in the EU it seems likely that passing on books may well become legal there also.
Practically speaking, given how simple it is to remove DRM and the scale of one person giving away, or even selling, a book they've read and no longer want I think the chances of any legal consequences are minute. Unless, of course, the publishers want the same sterling reputation the RIAA has.