Secondhand ebooks?

[Miss]

Okay, I know there technically isn't any such thing. But say someone purchased an ebook, read it, and then wasn't planning to again. Would it be legal to send it to another person and then delete all your own copies and backups of it? Are such things done at all?

Enlighten me, please.

[MikeOxlittle]

I see there being no difference between what you propose and giving a physical copy of a book to a friend as you're deleting your original copy. Perfectly fine in my opinion.

<cue the Copyright Crusaders in 3, 2, 1 ......>

[pidgeon92]

I'm no copyright crusader. However, if you check the license agreement for the ebook you purchased, you will no doubt find that you are not to transfer the ebook to anyone else.

For instance, here is the digital content agreement for Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...06200&#content

[plib]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

I'm no copyright crusader. However, if you check the license agreement for the ebook you purchased, you will no doubt find that you are not to transfer the ebook to anyone else.

For instance, here is the digital content agreement for Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...06200&#content

Just because they write it in the license doesn't mean it's enforceable. Has this ever been tested in court? Can anyone point me to a case specifically relating to ebooks?

[danskmacabre]

Seeing as it will be European law soon to allow and facilitate digitally purchased/downloaded games to be sold on I wonder if ebooks will be next to be allowed to sell on in the European community.

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by MikeOxlittle

I see there being no difference between what you propose and giving a physical copy of a book to a friend as you're deleting your original copy. Perfectly fine in my opinion.

<cue the Copyright Crusaders in 3, 2, 1 ......>

I don't know if it's technically "legal", but morally, I don't see anything wrong with it.

I've done that with printed books I've bought and then realized i hated, but someone else wanted it so badly they'd give their teeth for it. So if the original ebook is deleted, the end result is no different than a printed book.

The only difference is obvious, that with an e-book, a copy is retained by default unless the original owner deletes it. The only reason it wouldn't be legal is the fact that nobody would trust the original purchaser to actually delete it.

That's largely why I buy printed books, nobody cares who i hand it to because no "copy" is made when I hand it to someone. A single copy can change 50 hands and then they can give it back to me, and then on top of that I can STILL sell it or donate it permanently. Printed books are a better investment IMO and I wish there were no grey areas with e-books.

[Miss]

So many helpful responses already, wow.

[Quexos]

You are not supposed to. That's what DRM are there for, to keep you on a leash and in exchange of your very real money, give you very limited rights.

[FizzyWater]

There would be many - including the booksellers - who would say it is illegal.

But for many, it's ethical, as long as you truly do delete your copy (and your backups).

You have to decide how to live with it, including the admittedly small chance that you could get in trouble legally. If the ebook is digitally watermarked, and the person you give it to uploads it to a torrent (or wherever), you could be held responsible.

In my early days of discovering independent ebooks, I have bought ebooks that I knew in 2 pages I would never finish. (Now I'm more careful with what I buy!) I had no problem personally handing those off to people I trusted and deleting my copies. But I did it knowing that I do have a small risk of getting in trouble for it.

Something tells me, in the long run, the courts in many countries will judge it as legal. However, there is a major sticking point right now: short of transferring the device, you are actually transferring a copy. There is a bit of a trust issue (and likely a legal issue) about the original being deleted.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Miss

Okay, I know there technically isn't any such thing. But say someone purchased an ebook, read it, and then wasn't planning to again. Would it be legal to send it to another person and then delete all your own copies and backups of it? Are such things done at all?

Enlighten me, please.

The problem with that is while you don't have a copy any longer, if the eBook originally had DRM, you can;t strip the DRM to sell it. Also, if you can still go back to where you purchased it and download it again, you can't sell it.

What needs to be done is for the shop you bought the eBook to transfer it to a different account. But then, they can't be sure you've deleted all copies.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Something tells me, in the long run, the courts in many countries will judge it as legal. However, there is a major sticking point right now: short of transferring the device, you are actually transferring a copy. There is a bit of a trust issue (and likely a legal issue) about the original being deleted.

As long as you still have access to download it where you bought it, it won't fly.

[HarryT]

As Jon rightly says, the issue is that you still have the book available to you from the store you bought it from, and most stores don't provide a method of deleting it.

[Kumabjorn]

And this is why copyright laws needs to be modernized.
One such requirement beeing that if you want to transfer an eBook to someone you should be able to do so, as long as it is done in accordance with traditional transfer methods, ie. you don't maintain a copy on a retailer's server, in the cloud or on your computer (USB stick, MicroSD card etc).

Yes, I too can see that there are practical limitations to this, but a start would be for the law to require digital retailers to offer that ability.

My sister recently got herself an iPad and she is going gaga over it right now. I showed her how to install the Kindle app and how to buy books online. I have some 100 finished Kindle books and I know she would enjoy some 30 or 40 of those, but I can't legally give them to her. That just doesn't make sense.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

As long as you still have access to download it where you bought it, it won't fly.

This can actually be a good thing when it comes to transferring books since there is a third party to ensure that the book has been removed from existing devices. But I only see this happening if there is a decision after there is a decision in the courts.