Ridiculous copyright notices: "no part of this text may be downloaded..."

[hildea]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

Of course, it's just boilerplate, Harper Collins has no intention of enforcing this text exactly as written, nor could they realistically do so.

Yep. And even if they had some spare SWAT teams on hand it would be illegal to try to enforce it in Norway: You're not allowed to sell something that's unusable for its main purpose without informing the customer first, and an ebook which can't be downloaded is pretty unusable.

Still, it's annoying

[MichelleLouring]

Really, guys, we all know copyright statements are not supposed to make sense!

[crich70]

Originally Posted by MichelleLouring

Really, guys, we all know copyright statements are not supposed to make sense!

True, but it is fun to tweak the publisher's nose (so to speak) a bit in threads like this one.

[treadlightly]

The more ridiculous the terms, the more likely the draconian statements regarding electronic usage will be thrown out in a legal challenge. Bring on the crazypants!

[LadyKate]

Originally Posted by hildea

I just finished a book from Harper Collins*), and for some reason actually read the copyright notice at the end:



They don't want to allow me to download the book? To store it anywhere? How do they imagine that people who buy their ebooks are able to read them on a screen without downloading and storing them?

It's not as if they're able to enforce this, but this kind of absurdity it does make me less inclined to buy ebooks from Harper Collins in the future. If they don't want me to download their books, I can try to honor their wishes, but in that case there's no point in me buying them either. (I can't promise I'll be completely consistent. If they publish something I really, really want to read, I might burden them with my money in spite of their clearly stated wishes.) I looked at a few other books, and found the same nonsense from Harlequin, so that's another publisher who apparently doesn't actually want customers.

Does anyone have any idea of the thought processes behind this kind of notice? Is it usual, and I just haven't noticed before?


*) "The Golem and the Jinni" by Helene Wecker, strongly recommended, despite the silly publisher!

You have purchased the express permission when you purchased the book. It is a notice aimed at those who have not purchased the book.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by LadyKate

You have purchased the express permission when you purchased the book. It is a notice aimed at those who have not purchased the book.

Spoilsport.

[QuantumIguana]

Originally Posted by LadyKate

You have purchased the express permission when you purchased the book. It is a notice aimed at those who have not purchased the book.

Amazon may have been given express written permission to upload it to me, but I have never been granted express written permission to download it. I have to make do with implicit permission.