UK Notices Amazon eBooks Not Really Yours to Own
The Kindle is now available in the UK and the GuardianUK has picked up on the fact that, unlike buying a physical book, the eBooks you "buy" from Amazon are actually not yours to own.
The Kindle EULA is a good example. Section 3, which deals with "Digital Content" (such as downloaded books), says that "Unless specifically indicated otherwise, you may not sell, rent, lease, distribute, broadcast, sublicense or otherwise assign any rights to the Digital Content or any portion of it to any third party, and you may not remove any proprietary notices or labels on the Digital Content." In other words, you are forbidden to lend or sell the book you've just "bought". In real-world terms, you can't lend your copy of 1984 to a friend or donate it to the school jumble sale.
This has long been an issue with nearly all digital goods, from music to video games, but it seems like the mainstream press and the common end user are beginning to notice that something funky is going on and perhaps this will lead to a stronger consumer revolt against these absurd attempts to control how you use the products you purchase.
Uncategorized | admin | 
November 9, 2009 9:51 am
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