Quote:
Originally Posted by RobRittenhouse
That's up to Amazon. They are effectively the publisher.
In the dead tree world a publisher who negligently published a work that violated copyrights would be liable. I don't believe they would try to retrieve the books from the purchasers though. Nor do I think the purchasers have much liability (IANAL -- there was a comment from one earlier in this thread). I'm sure the publisher appreciates that Amazon did that but I doubt that the purchasers do.
Amazon might face a lawsuit from customers if they have, in fact, violated their EULA by removing the books.
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Yes, exactly. But in this case, Amazon did not
publish the book. They *distributed* it. Legally there is a world of difference between publishing and distributing.
Their liability ends with ceasing distribution.
Since they refunded the money to the customers, they are not liable for removing the content. As I've said, it's creepy and chilling that they did so, but legally it was by far the safest course. And as has been posted in another thread, it may have been the way their refund system operates. Frankly I didn't realize they offered refunds on e-books. That's unusual in my experience.