I couldn’t help but respond the other week to a person who left me a comment on my website, a comment assuring me that what they had to say may look like spam but assuring me it wasn’t. All I could do was protest loudly that their site looked like…well, spam. Having disapproved of the comment I sent it off into the protective clutches of my anti-spam programme and then, aggravated beyond reason by what could well be another scam or copyright violation, I posted a response. I copy it for the readers of Britwriters because I believe and hope it clarifies the law with regards to the passing on of books, especially ebooks:
You say you’re not a publisher and yet you’re making money selling free ebooks? This is an oxymoron. If you are selling books they’re not ‘free’. Secondly, you say you’re not a writer so where are you getting these books from? Are you selling other people’s free ebooks? If you’re doing so without their permission you are in violation of copyright law. If you are buying ebooks and selling them on, you are in violation of copyright law. On both counts, I advise you to read the statement that runs in my side bar. If you are doing something else, which I don’t understand, my apologies, but no, I’m not going to download your report file from a site that says very little. For all I know it could be a virus. I’d advise everyone else not to do so either. This isn’t personal. I’m just being sensibly cautious. Sorry.
Look, copyright law on ebooks is simple. You cannot copy, distribute, resell or loan an ebook. Saying that, most of us wouldn’t object if we heard you’ve made yourself a back-up copy purely for your own personal use. We live in a wonderful age of technology but technology fails us from time to time. We hear you’re selling our work and we’ll come down on you like the proverbial ton of bricks. Writers and publishers are getting better at locating piracy sites and law enforcement is finally taking it seriously.
The most common question we hear is “If I can resell or loan a printed book, why can’t I as a reader resell or loan ebooks?” To be honest, even the reselling or lending of some printed books is a grey area. However, it tends to be overlooked because of several reasons.
- Most people hate the idea of printed books being destroyed. If you’re finished with them and cannot pass them on in some way they are only good for recycling.
- When a printed book is passed on, someone may find an author they like and start buying new books by that author on a regular basis. It’s sort of free-advertising and yes, one could argue this would apply to ebooks but there’s a major difference and reason why this doesn’t work so read on.
- Many second-hand books are sold for charity purposes.
- You are giving up your physical edition of the book and will no longer own it.
Point 4 is the major one. When you give, sell, or loan a printed book you give away the item you purchased. Even when loaning it, you risk not getting it back. You are not making a ‘physical copy’ of that book to pass it on.
When you pass an ebook on (and some people do this in innocence not piracy but they are still in the wrong) the reader tends to ‘keep’ their version and simply send the file on, thereby making a ‘copy’. I can assure you that this is just as illegal in printed works.
Imagine you took one of Stephen King’s novels, dissected it, scanned it in, printed it up either by POD (good luck — they would spot what you are doing in a flash), or via the printer at home, and tried to give it away, sell it, or hand to a friend. Should SK find out do you think he wouldn’t sue your arse off? Oh yes, he would!
The point is you are not allowed to make a ‘copy’ of any written work be it printed or electronic. You may (usually) print off an electronic book with the purpose of reading it in that form should you not wish to read on screen, but that printed form is subject to the same laws. You may not sell it, or pass it on. If you wish to pass on an ebook the only viable way to do this is buy an extra copy, and what’s so wrong with that? We all have people to buy presents for.
Oh…and to those who think they can file share their ebook library, has nothing I’ve stated sunk in? Besides, you are NOT a library and did you know that even if you were there is such a thing as the ‘public lending right’? This means that an author can, if they wish, claim a small payment every time a library lends one of their books. So next time you choose to file share, don’t be surprised should you receive a letter from the authors asking for an audit of the number of ‘loans’ and demanding payment from you!
You are not a publisher and the author has not signed a contract with you. You do not have the right to sell.
You are not an official state library. You do not have the right to loan (and let’s be honest — loan in electronic format means copy and give away).
You are not friends with thousands of strangers online that you simply ‘must’ lend your books to (and we’ve already established that you are not lending but copying) and authors and publishers will not turn their back on you ‘giving’ their work away.
I’m not speaking to those who are deliberately committing an act of piracy. They know they are breaking the law, damaging authors and the publishing industry, and they just don’t care. The most we can do is assure them that while there will always be crooks there will always be those willing to fight them. I’m speaking mainly to those that do this in innocence, not understanding that they are doing anything wrong. You claim to love us as writers. You claim to love our work. We do work — hard — at this. Most of us have day jobs, families, lives just like you. We have to find time to write on top of all that. We often forsake sleep. Many don’t make as much money as you think and even if we did, haven’t we ‘earned’ it? You love our characters, our worlds, our stories. You claim to love our work and even to love us. Why do something fundamentally harmful to someone or something you love?
Did you know there are pirate copies of the “I Do” anthology out there? A book I took part in for charity. The thought that people can be so low as to steal from charity has made some of us authors want to puke. If you’re doing this in innocence or not, rest assured, we’re very upset with you.
I am so with you on this. My new ebook – pirated the same day. It’s so disheartening. No matter how hard the publishers and we writers try, they find a way to keep offering the books. You’re right that it’s hardly worth the effort trying to reason with the ‘big’ guys – but readers – yes – can’t they see that they’ll destroy us in the end?
Quite and especially for British writers writing for US publishers, we make even less because we lose in the exchange rate. I know there are always going to be the unscrupulous but I don’t know which is more frustrating, the ones that set out to break the law or those that do it in seeming innocence. I think the most upsetting aspect are the readers who file share and just seem to think they are ‘loaning’ books in their library. It beggars belief.
Thanks for this really excellent article, sharon. As a UK writer, published in the US, I can confirm that for most of us, what we actuall make from writing bears no relation to the amount of time, effort and sheer hard slog spent writing, revising, editing and finally, when the book is published, marketing it.
In fact the small amount received as royalties often doesn’t even cover the cost of that marketing. It saddens me that readers, in all innocence, pass on books, or download them from sites which have no right to offer them in the first place, without stopping to think that maybe they’re actually stealing even this small reimbursement for their time and effort from the author, not to mention the publisher.
As for the ‘organised’ pirates, they’re like any other thief – crimnals and should be treated accordingly!
You’re so right. I think the media have done writers no favours. I always think of the movie “Something’s Gotta Give” with the lead character being a writer and having this lovely home on the beach and her desk in front of this fab window with a view of the ocean. As if and if only!
The truth is most writers (the exception usually being those regularly in the top ten lists) have part-time if not full-time jobs. They also have the writing job and sacrifice a lot to do that. I know many would ask if the financial gain isn’t that great why write but I think you need to be a writer to understand that motivation. I think part of the problem is that too many assume that the moment you become a writer you’re rich overnight. They also think they are stealing only from the publishers who ‘clearly make so much money’ and again, this isn’t the case. There are smaller publishing companies and even the big ones are struggling. It costs to produce a book.
I’ve always said if you worked it out, the ‘hourly rate’ on this job sucks. LOL.
A great post, Sharon, and here’s hoping it raises awareness of this tricky grey area. I thought your explanation of the difference between ‘loaning’ and ‘copying’ was excellent. I bet most people don’t realise there *is* a difference, let alone what it is.
True. I know publishers post copyright rules but I don’t always think it’s made clear enough.