Quote:
Originally Posted by H-P
Is someone here has allready recopy a full paperbook to create an ebook ?
|
If the contents of the paperback are in the public domain, it's legal to copy it and convert the contents to an ebook.
Quote:
In my case, i definitly think that is unfair competition to cut and paste content done by volunteers, and making business with this kind of work.
This is unfair, because a publisher which work in this book industry can't pay salary, tax,...to create ebooks publications and stay in competition with someone who's pay nothing by using this kind of work.
|
The publisher is also allowed to copy the content and create an ebook. If they can't do it as cheaply as an individual, they won't be able to compete with the private individual.
Quote:
|
Work done for free by free volunteers has to stay outside the business market. that definitly my point of view. I also think than a lot of volunteers who's created textes this last 10 years, didn't do it for some f... lazy guys.
|
Volunteers are welcome to require their work stay out of the business market--if what they're working on, is something they can legally control.
The use of public domain texts is not. The text of a book in the public domain is free (libre, not gratis) for anyone to use. The *format* of a book--paperback, hardcover, epub, or mobi--may be not-free (not gratis), but the text is available to be used by anyone who has it.
That's the way copyright law works. A person can cut and copy a book in the public domain, and anyone can use that text--including a big-name publisher that wants to re-issue a paper book in a new size.
Quote:
|
---> Joykin, when you work 2, 3 weeks to make serious work for one ebook. And someone come with the full gutemberg in one ebook for 1 dollar. Do you think than you can sell your ebook for one dollar = one month of work.
|
Why did you spend 2 or 3 weeks making a book you could grab from Gutenberg for free?
If your version is *better* than the Gutenberg version, then you have to convince the customers of that. There's nothing illegal about selling a cheaper version that's lower quality, and there's nothing illegal about buying it. If your book is better than the Gutenberg version because it has better fonts, some pictures, an introduction with the history of the book, and annotations explaining the details--you can probably sell it for more. But some people don't care about all that, and they will buy the $1 version for their Kindles, or go to Gutenberg and download it for free (gratis).
Anyone who doesn't want to compete with free public domain books, or cheap public domain books, is welcome to write their own books instead. The contents of those books will be protected by copyright law, and other people will not be allowed to sell them at a lower price. Nor at all, if the author doesn't want to allow other people to sell them.