[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

As it is such a short response it could of course mean any darn thing that Kobo wants it to mean

OK, just for complete clarity, here are the complete sequence of emails between me and Kobo customer services.

First question

Spoiler:

Dear Kobo,

A question about terms of use, specifically item 9:

"9. Literary Works.
All literary works at kobobooks.com are the exclusive property of the publisher or its licensors and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. The download of these literary works is intended for Kobo's Registered Users' personal and non-commercial use. Any other use of literary works downloaded from kobobooks.com is strictly prohibited. Registered Users may not modify, transmit, publish, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, display, or in any way exploit, any of the content of these literary works, in whole or in part. By downloading literary works from kobobooks.com, the Registered User hereby acknowledges and agrees to these terms."

When I buy a Kobo book, who else am I authorised to allow to read it?

e.g.
Spouse?
Child?
Child at University?
Parent?
Sister-in-law?
Nephew?
Close friend?

Or no-one at all?

regards,

Paul Durrant

First (non-automated) response

Spoiler:

Hi Paul,

Thank you for contacting Kobo Customer Care. We’ve escalated your issue to our Tier 2 support team.

The Tier 2 team will try to provide a resolution as soon as possible and will contact you if they require additional information in order to resolve your issue.

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
The Kobo Team

Second non-automated response

Spoiler:

Hi Paul,

Thank you for contacting Kobo Customer Care. We are happy to offer clarification regarding "9. Literary Works. (Terms of Use)

In answer to your question, nobody - the only way you can share is by giving someone access to your account.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,
The Kobo Team

Second Question

Spoiler:

Dear Kobo Customer Care,

Thank you for your response to my question, but it seems to be a technical rather than legal answer to my question. Obviously no-one is able read my books (the DRMed ones, anyway) unless they have access to my account, i.e. have a device authorised to my Adobe ID.

But I am asking about the licence terms.

May I let my spouse read ebooks that I have bought (on a device authorised to my Adobe ID)?
May I let my children read ebooks that I have bought (on a device authorised to my Adobe ID)?
May I let a close friend read ebooks that I have bought (on a device authorised to my Adobe ID)?

I'm sorry to go on about this, but I do want to understand how many copies of an ebook you expect a household to buy if everyone in the household wants to read it. Your licence terms seem to imply that a copy needs to be bought for everyone who wants to read the ebook.

Yours,

Paul Durrant.

Third Non-automated response

Spoiler:

Hi Paul,

Thank you for contacting Kobo Customer Care.

Legally, only the account holder has license to use the material.

Hope this clarifies.

Sincerely,
The Kobo Team