Register Guidelines E-Books Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   MobileRead Forums > E-Book General > General Discussions

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 03-19-2010, 02:41 AM   #1
alvico
Addict
alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
alvico's Avatar
 
Posts: 279
Karma: 400001
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Victoria, Australia
Device: iPod Touch
Geo-restrictions not legal?

Industry source says ebook geo-restrictions not legal – suggests we all rort at will

http://bookbee.com.au/index.php/2010...-rort-at-will/

Now why doesn't this surprise me?
alvico is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2010, 03:13 AM   #2
colinsky
Addict
colinsky ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.colinsky ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.colinsky ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.colinsky ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.colinsky ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.colinsky ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.colinsky ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.colinsky ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.colinsky ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.colinsky ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.colinsky ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
colinsky's Avatar
 
Posts: 232
Karma: 3232318
Join Date: Sep 2009
Device: Sony PRS-300, PRS-T1, PRS-T3
...I had to look it up (obviously not an Aussie here!).

Quote:
rort, n. 1. An act of fraud or sharp practice; a ‘lurk’.
http://203.166.81.53/and/index.php
colinsky is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 03-19-2010, 03:17 AM   #3
Sweetpea
Grand Sorcerer
Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Sweetpea's Avatar
 
Posts: 9,707
Karma: 32763414
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Krewerd
Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Quote:
Originally Posted by colinsky View Post
...I had to look it up (obviously not an Aussie here!).


http://203.166.81.53/and/index.php
Thanks, saves me the trouble



Nice piece of work there! It's also how I think of it: if it's not available for me in my geograhic region, why wouldn't I be able to buy it from another geographic region? Which is why I simply ignore those regions in any way I can...
Sweetpea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2010, 03:43 AM   #4
alvico
Addict
alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.alvico ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
alvico's Avatar
 
Posts: 279
Karma: 400001
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Victoria, Australia
Device: iPod Touch
Oops... I didn't realise "rort" wasn't a universal word. I just know I saw a lot of it when I was studing commercial law.

Sorry.
alvico is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2010, 04:37 AM   #5
lene1949
Wizard
lene1949 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.lene1949 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.lene1949 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.lene1949 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.lene1949 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.lene1949 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.lene1949 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.lene1949 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.lene1949 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.lene1949 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.lene1949 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
lene1949's Avatar
 
Posts: 1,952
Karma: 213930
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Middelfart, Denmark
Device: Kindle paper white
Quote:
Originally Posted by alvico View Post
Industry source says ebook geo-restrictions not legal – suggests we all rort at will

http://bookbee.com.au/index.php/2010...-rort-at-will/

Now why doesn't this surprise me?
English is my second language, and I have no idea what 'rort' means...
lene1949 is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 03-19-2010, 04:53 AM   #6
Ben Thornton
Guru
Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Ben Thornton's Avatar
 
Posts: 900
Karma: 779635
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: UK
Device: Kindle 3, iPad 2 (but not for e-books)
It seems to me that while his source was probably correct that Amazon's decision to impose restrictions was a business decision, not a legal requirement on them, it doesn't follow that I have a right to bypass that decision by fraud.

They ask what law one is breaking - it's payment of local taxes that would concern me. If I tell Amazon.com that I'm in the US, I don't pay VAT, and I suspect that it isn't legal to lie to a retailer so as to avoid VAT payment.

I hate geo restrictions, and wish that I could circumvent them with impunity, but I don't think I can.

Last edited by Ben Thornton; 03-19-2010 at 05:31 AM.
Ben Thornton is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2010, 05:00 AM   #7
AlexBell
Wizard
AlexBell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AlexBell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AlexBell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AlexBell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AlexBell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AlexBell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AlexBell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AlexBell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AlexBell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AlexBell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AlexBell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
AlexBell's Avatar
 
Posts: 3,413
Karma: 13369310
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Launceston, Tasmania
Device: Sony PRS T3, Kobo Glo, Kindle Touch, iPad, Samsung SB 2 tablet
Quote:
Originally Posted by alvico View Post
Industry source says ebook geo-restrictions not legal – suggests we all rort at will

http://bookbee.com.au/index.php/2010...-rort-at-will/

Now why doesn't this surprise me?
Thanks for the link to the site; I've bookmarked it and will explore it later.

Regards, Alex
AlexBell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2010, 06:55 AM   #8
Stormchild
Evangelist
Stormchild ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stormchild ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stormchild ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stormchild ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stormchild ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stormchild ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stormchild ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stormchild ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stormchild ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stormchild ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stormchild ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Stormchild's Avatar
 
Posts: 466
Karma: 878943
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Cornwall UK
Device: BeBook 1. BeBook Mini. BeBook Neo and Club. BeBook Live. BeeBook Pure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lene1949 View Post
English is my second language, and I have no idea what 'rort' means...
Don't worry, English is my first and I have no idea either.
Stormchild is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2010, 08:25 AM   #9
sony_fox
Zealot
sony_fox has learned how to buy an e-book online
 
Posts: 109
Karma: 84
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Manchester
Device: Kobo Auroa H2O
How's this apply outside of Aus? anyone know?
sony_fox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2010, 08:37 AM   #10
sabredog
Geographically Restricted
sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
sabredog's Avatar
 
Posts: 2,629
Karma: 14933353
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Perth, Australia
Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2
Well, well, well...

A very interesting article, thanks for the link!
sabredog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2010, 09:24 AM   #11
Lemurion
eReader
Lemurion ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Lemurion ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Lemurion ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Lemurion ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Lemurion ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Lemurion ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Lemurion ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Lemurion ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Lemurion ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Lemurion ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Lemurion ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Lemurion's Avatar
 
Posts: 2,750
Karma: 4968470
Join Date: Aug 2007
Device: Note 5; PW3; Nook HD+; ChuWi Hi12; iPad
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, and this is not intended as legal advice.

As I understand it, that situation is peculiar to Australia and doesn't apply to most geographic restrictions anyway.

Amazon.com or any other ebook site is legally allowed to sell to almost anyone anywhere in the world (Cuba and North Korea being notable exceptions). The general problem is contractual.

Amazon's sales contract basically states that they can only sell an ebook to people in territories where the publisher has the rights to distribute that book. They can still sell to those people in general, but they have signed a contract saying they won't sell these products to them. That's why you can still order a pbook from Amazon to Australia even when you can't buy the Kindle edition of the same book from the same publisher. The contracts allow one but not the other.

It's the contracts that are the killer here.
Lemurion is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2010, 09:32 AM   #12
Ben Thornton
Guru
Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Ben Thornton's Avatar
 
Posts: 900
Karma: 779635
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: UK
Device: Kindle 3, iPad 2 (but not for e-books)
Is there not also a tax issue for Australia if you set up a false US address? Doesn't GST apply to ebooks?
Ben Thornton is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2010, 09:59 AM   #13
sabredog
Geographically Restricted
sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
sabredog's Avatar
 
Posts: 2,629
Karma: 14933353
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Perth, Australia
Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2
No, GST only is applied for items purchased domestically. I buy a lot of items online for my hobby as they are not available here readily in Australia. I have never been asked by the ATO to pay GST on them or been asked to pay customs for that matter either,
sabredog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2010, 10:10 AM   #14
Ben Thornton
Guru
Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ben Thornton ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Ben Thornton's Avatar
 
Posts: 900
Karma: 779635
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: UK
Device: Kindle 3, iPad 2 (but not for e-books)
Fair enough - but from the UK, this is definitely an issue for VAT, because Amazon.com apply VAT to the ebooks that I buy. If you're in the US, obviously, this doesn't apply, but claiming to be there when your not is some form of tax evasion I suspect.
Ben Thornton is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2010, 10:53 AM   #15
DawnFalcon
Banned
DawnFalcon plays well with othersDawnFalcon plays well with othersDawnFalcon plays well with othersDawnFalcon plays well with othersDawnFalcon plays well with othersDawnFalcon plays well with othersDawnFalcon plays well with othersDawnFalcon plays well with othersDawnFalcon plays well with othersDawnFalcon plays well with othersDawnFalcon plays well with others
 
Posts: 2,094
Karma: 2682
Join Date: Aug 2009
Device: N/A
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Thornton View Post
It seems to me that while his source was probably correct that Amazon's decision to impose restrictions was a business decision, not a legal requirement on them, it doesn't follow that I have a right to bypass that decision by fraud.
Don't confuse the situation in the UK or USA with the one in Australia. Remember that things like modchips are legal under their law - and you cannot legally enforce regional restrictions on DVD's or games in Australia!

So it doesn't surprise me that it's quite likely entirely legal to bypass georestriction blocks, if you're Australian.

The tax issue is a separate question, but given Australian law, I doubt it's an issue. In the UK, yes, it is an issue but. The but is that VAT is only payable on "consignments over £18*". Customs duty doesn't kick in until £135.

(*there are a couple of exceptions, but not book-related)

Last edited by DawnFalcon; 03-19-2010 at 11:00 AM.
DawnFalcon is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
australia, geographical restriction

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Geo Restrictions on Games? Dwayne_Matheson Amazon Kindle 2 09-26-2010 06:18 PM
Geo Restrictions emmad Amazon Kindle 30 09-20-2010 07:22 AM
Thwarted again/Geo restrictions Annetteg General Discussions 13 05-29-2010 04:17 AM
Unabridged Vs ABridged geo restrictions sergiodongala Lounge 2 04-19-2010 02:55 AM
No Geo-restrictions seagull Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links) 3 12-14-2009 01:07 AM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:42 AM.


MobileRead.com is a privately owned, operated and funded community.