Well! You'll be happy to know that I stand here now unabashedly corrected -- er, well, maybe a little bashed, but not too much the worse for wear.
I had a very eye-opening, enlightening discussion over on an email discussion list called "Digital Copyright Canada" (I'm in Canada), and if perchance it's of interest to explore the copyright issue further, you can read my post and the subsequent replies here...
http://list.digital-copyright.ca/pip...er/thread.html
...(it's pretty obvious to pick out -- currently it's the only thread this month).
I'm still awaiting another reply -- and who knows how much longer it will go on -- but for what it's worth I've gathered from all this that you guys were right, at least for the most part. Somehow the guy over on that other list (Russell McOrmond) managed to put a slant on things that hadn't really been brought up here, specifically.
As I said in my most recent reply on that thread (as of this writing), I find myself having a whole new, different perspective on the whole idea of "copyright" now (when it comes to ebooks), let alone what approach I should now take with my own books, if only because I'm now somewhat leaning toward one of throwing my hands up in the air -- and just throwing my ebooks out there -- and saying "Here, take 'em, read 'em, do whatever you want with them."
At the same time, though, I do have to admit that it's been somewhat disappointing and disheartening to come to that realization -- but who knows, maybe it's not quite as unpleasant a thing as I've been feeling it might be. Maybe it's not even so awful if, indeed, people actually
do end up "stealing" my books and claiming that they did all the work themselves -- it's their conscience, not mine, that they have to live with in the end, after all.
Anyway, just thought I'd share that thread, in case perhaps it's of interest to others here -- and give you all my "concession speech."