Selling "used" ebooks
I am on a number of books discussing ebooks. Just last night, one of my lists alerted me to a couple of Word Press blogs that are selling “used” ebooks.
For those of you out there that don’t know, selling a copy of an ebook that you bought is illegal, as is buying a “used” ebook. It is copyright infringement. Buying an ebook does not give a person the right to sell it, give it away, or copy it. When a person does this, they not only break the law, but they hurt the author, the publisher, and readers. How it hurts the author and publisher is obvious, but what about the reader? Think about it, if the author is not making enough royalties from his/her books, she will not be able to write as many or may have to give up writing all together. And a number of publishers have closed their doors from people illegally sharing the ebooks they published. There are many talented authors out there who struggle, in part, because of this type of activity.
If you no longer want that ebook sitting on your PDA or computer, the best, and only legal way to get rid of it, is to delete it. If you wish to give someone an ebook you enjoyed, buy an extra copy and give it to them that way. Yes, it seems silly, but you will know you are supporting that author, allowing them to continue to write great tales that will amuse you for years to come.
Marci
posted by Marci Baun at 11:41 PM
1 Comments:
By this logic, all used book stores should be raided by the police, their contents seized and destroyed, the bookseller tried and the sellers and purchasers of the used books also arrested. There is no difference except conceptually between an e-book and a regular book. What your defending is the publishing community's inability to cope with the digital world.
Eventually, hopefully, there will be a way to sell e-books "legally" and if it's done right, get the author a cut from the resale. If publishers cared about their authors, they would find a way to create certificates which would allow transfer of ownership via specific websites with appropriate transfer of monies to all parties. Otherwise, folks will find an "illegal" way to do it. They always do.
Post a Comment
<< Home