Web Site that Offer Free eBook.....How can you

[emellaich]

The problem with these type of questions is that there is no general rule. You will always find exceptions. I will take a crack at a general rule, but I'm sure I will here about exceptions to this rule.

There are two general types of books, those with current copyright control and those that are now in the public domain.

The public domain books are freely available everywhere. Here at MR, Project Gutenberg, Amazon, Google Books, etceteras. There is no need to go to a secondary site for these books.

Then there are books that are under copyright control. These books are generally available only by web sites that are specifically authorized by the copyright holder. Usually, these fall into three categories. Commercial web sites, like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, smash words, fiction wise. Publishers web sites. And, the authors own web sites.

As a result there are very few web sites that have any value that allow random community members to upload books and to make them available. In general, I would concentrate on books uploaded directly by authors.

As an interesting side note, consider the community here on MR. If you are not part of MR, then this might sound exactly like those no-value, and web sites that just duplicates books that are available elsewhere. Actually, this is not true and MR is the exception that proves the rule. Generally, MR are available everywhere that you can find public domain books. The difference is that MR up loaders spend significant time proofreading and re-formatting existing public domain books in order to provide clean books. These are not existing books that are just Rey loaded.

As mentioned earlier, another exception is Baen books and the fifthimperium web site.

However, as a bottom line, if you find a web site that lets random visitors upload books your first inclination should be that either they are pirated or that the books are no different than those that are available elsewhere. If you want to investigate further, then look for a reason/mission like that at MR that leads you to believe that books that are not uploaded by copyright owners have any value.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by HarryT

That's true. You can be pretty sure, though, that if you go to a site and see something like, say, the Harry Potter books available for download, it's not legit.

Yeah or if someone claims the works of Stephen King are out of copyright that should send up some flags too. As I remember someone posted about such a claim here at MR not long ago. Considering you have to be dead for a given time for such copyright to lapse anyone seeing a living author's works offered as out of copyright should know that such isn't the case.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by crich70

Yeah or if someone claims the works of Stephen King are out of copyright that should send up some flags too. As I remember someone posted about such a claim here at MR not long ago. Considering you have to be dead for a given time for such copyright to lapse anyone seeing a living author's works offered as out of copyright should know that such isn't the case.

For the sake of accuracy, I should point out that this is not necessarily true in the United States. It used to be the case in the US that copyright had to be registered, and renewed, and that if the renewal was not done, the work entered the public domain. That's how all the magazine SF short stories, many of which are by living authors, ended up on "Project Gutenberg". It is ONLY in the public domain in the US, though; nowhere else.

[Barbara1955]

Copyright laws are toooo confusing LOL Because even IF the Authors IS dead they Family Still can have the books registered!

[crich70]

Originally Posted by HarryT

For the sake of accuracy, I should point out that this is not necessarily true in the United States. It used to be the case in the US that copyright had to be registered, and renewed, and that if the renewal was not done, the work entered the public domain. That's how all the magazine SF short stories, many of which are by living authors, ended up on "Project Gutenberg". It is ONLY in the public domain in the US, though; nowhere else.

I didn't know that. Or at least didn't realize that was the case. Though I wager it's more often seen in older works than something written in the last few decades. I mean I assume all works by Stephen King are still under copyright for example, though I haven't seen any paperwork confirming such.

[HarryT]

Yes; this was in the 1960s and earlier. The US now has a "life+70" copyright law, but anything that entered the public domain under the old rules, remains there.

And, as you rightfully say, all of Mr. King's works are still very much under copyright protection .

[jhempel24]

Originally Posted by Katie1

Thanks!

I thought this was going to be a simple question & a simple answer....guess not!

There is a simple answer it just seems you don't want to hear it.

YES the sites are most likely illegal. If they harbour users posting links to copywritten material or material that's not out at Amazon or B&N then it's illega. I'm guessing if you click and it says file not found you are being directed to hotfile/rapidshare/fileserve etc, that's not the site policing itself, it's the file hosting site.

[Barbara1955]

Dang .... Since when does a person Asking Questions NOT want to hear the answer CRIPE!
But since you did answer [after such a smart a$$ coment] I thank you! Did Not realise that the Download link WAS a different site from the site giving out the Links!

BTW I AM reading ALL the information BUT Please Excuse my 56 yr old brain & 6th grade edu Before Computers IF I cant comprehend All this computer stuff!