am i allowed to give away a legally bought ebook?

rwe · 02-10-2011, 02:11 PM

when i buy a paper book, i can give it to a friend or to anyone i like to give it too, without a restriction.

in my experience books are a great gift and very much appreciated.

does the same apply to an ebook that i have legally bought, can i give this away without restrictions as well ?
is there a difference between europe and the us?

i hope someone can explain this to me.

J-Ro · 02-10-2011, 02:17 PM

My understanding is that typically when you purchase an ebook via Amazon, etc. you are not purchasing any rights to the material, but only a license to use the material. You do not have any ownership stake in the book so can not "give it away".

Anke Wehner · 02-10-2011, 02:18 PM

I think it depends on where you buy it. Read the terms you agree to when ordering a book.

As I understand it, it's not allowed if you buy from amazon.

Smashwords's boilerplate copyright text includes something on the lines of "if you want to give this book away, purchase a copy for each person you want to give it to", so that would be OK. (They have a rather different selection than Amazon, though.)

wvcherrybomb · 02-10-2011, 02:21 PM

You can buy it as a gift at Amazon and it will be sent to the recipient. I don't know if you can do this on any other sites.

rogue_librarian · 02-10-2011, 02:26 PM

It's usually more of a technical issue. Practically all commercial books employ DRM which will not allow you to do that (easily, legally).

taustin · 02-10-2011, 03:06 PM

Anybody who sells you an ebook will tell you that no, you can't give it away. Their license will say so, too. Whether or not that license is enforceable legally is a question that has not yet been answered, and may vary by state (in the US) when it is. In California, for instance, software sold (or that comes bundled with a new PC) with a similiar license restriction can, indeed, be given away or outright sold, under Softman v. Adobe, which ruled that if you 1) pay a one time fee, and 2) get unlimited use, then it's a "sale of goods" not a license, no matter what the license says, and as such the "first sale doctrine" applies.

The other issue is DRM restrictions. The DMCA prohibits cracking technical measures to prevent copying, but makes exceptions for certain purposes. Unfortunately, it doesn't really define what all those purposes mean, and it's entirely unclear how the courts will jump on this.

(In the end, of coruse, it doesn't matter much if you have the right to give away or sell an ebook you own, if the publishers is willing to throw lawyers at you, because you're not going to spend $100k defending your right to give away a $10 ebook).

wayrad · 02-10-2011, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rwe

when i buy a paper book, i can give it to a friend or to anyone i like to give it too, without a restriction.

in my experience books are a great gift and very much appreciated.

does the same apply to an ebook that i have legally bought, can i give this away without restrictions as well ?
is there a difference between europe and the us?

i hope someone can explain this to me.

Are you talking about giving the book to someone else and deleting all your copies, or giving them a copy and keeping yours? The second case would clearly be unauthorized reproduction and distribution (piracy).The first, as people have already mentioned, is a bit more complicated.

I don't give away ebooks from which DRM has been removed, even without keeping copies, since there is no way to control what will be done with them, and I'd have some responsibility if they were to get into the wild.

You might want to read some of the many exhaustive previous discussions of this topic. But be aware that they sometimes become acrimonious.

BookCat · 02-10-2011, 05:31 PM

DRM can be broken.

Everyone seems to be being very sanctimonious. If you don't want to go down rather dodgy paths, take the option of either buying a pbook or have the book sent to your friend's ereader in the first place.

Of course, if you trust them enough, you could alway loan them your reader for a few days. Personally, I'd be too worried that my reader would be damaged by even the most careful friend.

Barcey · 02-10-2011, 05:58 PM

My dad always said "it's easier to get forgiveness then permission". Who's going to stop you?

DixieGal · 02-10-2011, 06:31 PM

Kimdle has that share feature now.

Hi Barcey! Where ya beem?

Snapply · 02-10-2011, 06:37 PM

sometimes i pretend that we're talking about physical books and permission, and I realise how silly drm is

RCcoleinger · 02-10-2011, 06:52 PM

As an author and ebook publisher, I certainly like to be paid for every copy of my work that is distributed. With that said, I also realize that if a few people like my ebooks well enough to pass them on to their friends, my writing career certainly will not suffer. Each time someone reads one of my ebooks, there is a real good chance that reader will take a few minutes and look for more of my work. I certainly don't condone piracy, but some loss of sales may actually be good for my bottom line.

Ronnie Coleinger

crossi · 02-10-2011, 08:15 PM

I've heard of authors themselves uploading their own books to torrent sites for that reason. It stimulates sales.

taustin · 02-11-2011, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCcoleinger

As an author and ebook publisher, I certainly like to be paid for every copy of my work that is distributed. With that said, I also realize that if a few people like my ebooks well enough to pass them on to their friends, my writing career certainly will not suffer. Each time someone reads one of my ebooks, there is a real good chance that reader will take a few minutes and look for more of my work. I certainly don't condone piracy, but some loss of sales may actually be good for my bottom line.

It's a very complicated issue. Something that can be hard for some to grasp is that a pirated copy is not necessarily a lost sale. People who pirate books are usually not going to buy something they can't get for free, they'll simply pirate something else. If you make it difficult, they'll try that much harder, just to "teach you a lesson" maybe, and they'll have unkind things to say about you to their friends (who may or may not have similiar habits). On the other hand, if you make a visible effort to not worry overly much about a few bootleg copies, and the pirate likes your book, he'll say kinder things to his friends, and that one lost sale (that would never have been a sale to begin with) may turn in to several new fans who buy ever new book the day it's released. The early days of computer software is a study in piracy as a form of free advertising.

Generally speaking, it seems like the bigger a name you are, the more you'll be hurt by piracy, if only because everybody knows who you are to begin with. It's been a long, long time since Stephen King got any new fans because somebody passed on a bootleg copy of one of his books to a friend. But a relative unknown is far more likely to find new fans that way than, perhaps, through any advertising their publisher does.

I suspect there's no One True Way to approach the issue, and every author needs to figure out what's best for himself.

amward · 02-11-2011, 01:30 AM

There are some places you can buy an ebook withe publisher's blessing for you to pass it on to someone else,ie there is no DRM. You can do just what you can do with a pbook. Where possible this is where I get my books, although the question is academic as I only know 2 other people who have ereaders and we don't like the same sort of books.

02-10-2011, 02:11 PM	#1
rwe Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: ipod sony	am i allowed to give away a legally bought ebook? when i buy a paper book, i can give it to a friend or to anyone i like to give it too, without a restriction. in my experience books are a great gift and very much appreciated. does the same apply to an ebook that i have legally bought, can i give this away without restrictions as well ? is there a difference between europe and the us? i hope someone can explain this to me.

02-10-2011, 05:31 PM	#8
BookCat C L J Posts: 2,911 Karma: 21115458 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Birmingham UK Device: Sony e-reader 505, Kindle PW2, Kindle PW3, Kobo Libra2	DRM can be broken. Everyone seems to be being very sanctimonious. If you don't want to go down rather dodgy paths, take the option of either buying a pbook or have the book sent to your friend's ereader in the first place. Of course, if you trust them enough, you could alway loan them your reader for a few days. Personally, I'd be too worried that my reader would be damaged by even the most careful friend. Last edited by BookCat; 02-10-2011 at 05:34 PM.

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02-10-2011, 02:17 PM	#2
J-Ro Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Kindle 3	My understanding is that typically when you purchase an ebook via Amazon, etc. you are not purchasing any rights to the material, but only a license to use the material. You do not have any ownership stake in the book so can not "give it away".

02-10-2011, 02:18 PM	#3
Anke Wehner Addict Posts: 249 Karma: 177956 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Germany Device: PRS-650	I think it depends on where you buy it. Read the terms you agree to when ordering a book. As I understand it, it's not allowed if you buy from amazon. Smashwords's boilerplate copyright text includes something on the lines of "if you want to give this book away, purchase a copy for each person you want to give it to", so that would be OK. (They have a rather different selection than Amazon, though.)

02-10-2011, 02:21 PM	#4
wvcherrybomb Sharp Shootin' Grandma Posts: 847 Karma: 1123940 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Sunny Florida Device: Kindle 3, Kindle Fire, Literati (has been adopted by my daughter)	You can buy it as a gift at Amazon and it will be sent to the recipient. I don't know if you can do this on any other sites.

02-10-2011, 02:26 PM	#5
rogue_librarian Guru Posts: 973 Karma: 4269175 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Europe Device: Pocketbook Basic 613	It's usually more of a technical issue. Practically all commercial books employ DRM which will not allow you to do that (easily, legally).

02-10-2011, 03:06 PM	#6
taustin Wizard Posts: 1,358 Karma: 5766642 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Nook	Anybody who sells you an ebook will tell you that no, you can't give it away. Their license will say so, too. Whether or not that license is enforceable legally is a question that has not yet been answered, and may vary by state (in the US) when it is. In California, for instance, software sold (or that comes bundled with a new PC) with a similiar license restriction can, indeed, be given away or outright sold, under Softman v. Adobe, which ruled that if you 1) pay a one time fee, and 2) get unlimited use, then it's a "sale of goods" not a license, no matter what the license says, and as such the "first sale doctrine" applies. The other issue is DRM restrictions. The DMCA prohibits cracking technical measures to prevent copying, but makes exceptions for certain purposes. Unfortunately, it doesn't really define what all those purposes mean, and it's entirely unclear how the courts will jump on this. (In the end, of coruse, it doesn't matter much if you have the right to give away or sell an ebook you own, if the publishers is willing to throw lawyers at you, because you're not going to spend $100k defending your right to give away a $10 ebook).

02-10-2011, 05:58 PM	#9
Barcey Wizard Posts: 1,531 Karma: 8059866 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Canada Device: Kobo H2O / Aura HD / Glo / iPad3	My dad always said "it's easier to get forgiveness then permission". Who's going to stop you?

02-10-2011, 06:31 PM	#10
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	Kimdle has that share feature now. Hi Barcey! Where ya beem?

02-10-2011, 06:37 PM	#11
Snapply Connoisseur Posts: 55 Karma: 34 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Amazozn Kindlezz	sometimes i pretend that we're talking about physical books and permission, and I realise how silly drm is

02-10-2011, 06:52 PM	#12
RCcoleinger Member Posts: 12 Karma: 502012 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Michigan Device: nook	As an author and ebook publisher, I certainly like to be paid for every copy of my work that is distributed. With that said, I also realize that if a few people like my ebooks well enough to pass them on to their friends, my writing career certainly will not suffer. Each time someone reads one of my ebooks, there is a real good chance that reader will take a few minutes and look for more of my work. I certainly don't condone piracy, but some loss of sales may actually be good for my bottom line. Ronnie Coleinger

02-10-2011, 08:15 PM	#13
crossi Guru Posts: 997 Karma: 12000001 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Seattle Wahington U.S. Device: kindle	I've heard of authors themselves uploading their own books to torrent sites for that reason. It stimulates sales.

02-11-2011, 01:30 AM	#15
amward Wizard Posts: 1,299 Karma: 2081110 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: SW Australia Device: Eco Eclipse, Sony PRS 350 (pink), Ipod Touch, Kindle Touch	There are some places you can buy an ebook withe publisher's blessing for you to pass it on to someone else,ie there is no DRM. You can do just what you can do with a pbook. Where possible this is where I get my books, although the question is academic as I only know 2 other people who have ereaders and we don't like the same sort of books.