Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg
Might this be part of the reason that eBook prices are high in Australia?
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I don't buy from Amazon using an Australian account so I have no idea. Much hardware and software is dearer in Australia, but in the case of downloadable items, if you have a US credit card and address you aren't penalised.
The issue here is that DRM is an attempt at business manipulation, an attempt to monopolise my custom. It is not a legal OR an enforceable contractual obligation. If I buy a piece of music or a book, I am buying the licence to those works, I am not buying the media or the medium used to deliver them. As long as I don't breach copyright by distributing them I am breaking no law or contract. They can plaster their site with wishful thinking, and with many people it will work, they are suckered into believing that they have a legal obligation to abide by the conditions Amazon attempt to impose.
They also have conditions about reverse engineering their firmware and software, those are also unenforceable - as long what I do is for my own purpose and use. If I modify software to make it more suitable for my own use, it is nobody's business but mine. People too often regard TOS as law. It is far from law, except where it echoes existing law. The final issue is that without a signature, no contract is valid. Clicking past a few pages of fine print nonsense does not constitute a contractual agreement. Unfortunately too many people believe that it does.