Looking up the definition of ownership it says: “The act, state, or right of possessing something” (Oxforddictionaries.com, 2014). So, as people are buying their ebooks from the Amazon Kindle Store, they therefore believe that they own their ebooks. But is that actually the case?
Buying a physical book at a bookstore means the consumer can do whatever he or she wants with it. They can lend it to their friends, resell it at a flee market, etc. However, this is not possible with electronic books. As stated in Amazon Kindle Store’s terms and conditions, the consumer “[…] may not sell, rent, lease, distribute, broadcast, sublicense or otherwise assign any rights to the Kindle content or any portion of it to any third party […]” (Amazon.co.uk, 2014).
Furthermore, Amazon has the right to remove the content on your ereader for any reason -which has happened in the past (Naughton, 2009) - as consumers agree to the paragraph that states that “[…] Kindle content is licensed, not sold, to you by the content provider” (Amazon.co.uk, 2014). This means, that even though you ‘buy’ the book, you don’t own it, but Amazon does.
Consequently, the terms and conditions we agree to when downloading ebooks limit us in our freedom of ownership and redefine what that actually means.
Digital rights management protects copyright. Given the importance of copyright restricting product usage is understandable.
However, only a few people are aware of these facts, as the term ‘buy’ is misleading, giving consumers the impression to own something that is not actually theirs.
Regarding the importance of digital rights management and the protection of intellectual property by copyright, this is understandable. However, only a few people are aware of these facts, as the term ‘buy’ is misleading, giving consumers the impression to own something that is not actually theirs.
Amazon.co.uk, (2014); Amazon.co.uk Help: Kindle Store Terms of Use; Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201014950; [Accessed 1 Oct. 2014]
Amazon.co.uk, (2014); Buy now [screenshot]; Available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inside-Book-Publishing-Giles-Clark-ebook/dp/B00LC9DDQ6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1412537457&sr=1-1&keywords=inside+book+publishing; [Accessed 2 Oct. 2014]
Brown, E., (2012); Why Amazon is within its rights to remove access to your Kindle books; Available at: http://www.zdnet.com/why-amazon-is-within-its-rights-to-remove-access-to-your-kindle-books-7000006385/; [Accessed 2 Oct. 2014]
image, (n.d.); Agree; Available at: http://www.hotdocs.ca/resources/images/billboards/ Terms_and_Conditions_May_Apply_3.jpg; [Accessed 4 Oct. 2014]
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Jisclegal.ac.uk, (2014); What are the copyright issues in lending Kindles and ebooks to our students?; Available at: http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/ManageContent/ViewDetail/ID/2145/What-are-the-copyright-issues-in-lending-Kindles-and-ebooks-to-our-students-01-May-2013.aspx; [Accessed 1 Oct. 2014]
Mademers.com, (2011); Indie Author Pays Dearly for Misunderstanding Kindle Terms and Conditions; Available at: http://mademers.com/globalindieauthor/2011/12/indie-author-pays-dearly-for-misunderstanding-kindle-terms-and-conditions/; [Accessed 3 Oct. 2014]
Naughton, J., (2009); Kindle readers beware - big Amazon is watching you read 1984; Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/nov/08/amazon-kindle-licence-orwell; [Accessed 4 Oct. 2014]
Neal, M., (2013), Do You Ever Own Your E-Books?; Available at: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/do-you-ever-own-your-e-books; [Accessed 1 Oct. 2014]
oxforddictionaries.com, (2014); Definition of Ownership in Oxford Dictionary (British & World English); Available at: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ownership; [Accessed 2 Oct. 2014]
Seringhaus, M., (2010); Kindle: How To Buy A Book But Not Own It—A Commentary - Yale Law School; Available at: http://www.law.yale.edu/news/10288.htm; [Accessed 1 Oct. 2014]