What Rights Do We Have?
After my posts about how our rights are limited when we purchase an eBook, DRM technology, etc., I decided this week I would look at what rights are actually granted when we purchase an eBook from either Amazon or Sony, the two major eBook stores and e-reader sellers.
I dive in right after the cut.
SONY
The Sony “Terms of Service,” available here, lays out the rights and restrictions of Sony’s eBook services. The term “Services” is used throughout the document to represent its eBook services, software, and the actual content itself.
Permissions
Users have the right to download, listen, and view content. Users may view content an unlimited number of times to a registered PC (Note: currently, the Sony eBook software and eBooks are not Mac-compatible). Users can also transfer this content to a registered portable device, as long as the user does not exceed the “permissible device number for an applicable permissible transfer number of times.” Whew! The language here can be very confusing, but it is stating that there is a limit on how many devices may be registered to an account, and that there may be a limited number of permissible transfers for content.
Currently, the limit for registered devices to an account is 6. Nowhere in the Terms of Service or in Sony’s “Help” section does it specific what limits on transfers may apply. This most likely changes depending on the publisher preferences, but having such vague limitations is unsettling and does users a disservice, to say the least. Moving on.
Prohibitions
I’ve already noted that users are bound to have content only within the 6 registered devices. What other limitations on use are there? What are purchasers of eBooks prohibited from doing?
First, the Terms of Service specifically grant a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, limited right to use the Service (and eBook content). The non-transferability of the content prohibits users from sharing eBooks with friends and family, as the user cannot transfer the content to another. The only option for sharing content within the license agreement is if a friend or family member has a device that is authorized to your account. Sony addresses this issue directly here.
One interesting note about Sony’s Term’s of Service: it specifically notes that users “have no other right, title, or interest in the Service and any rights not specifically granted to you by us are fully reserved by us and our licensors, as applicable.” This seems to prohibit all uses not granted in the contract. Therefore, some uses that would otherwise be legal, such as uses of content considered fair use, are outright prohibited unless granted in this license.
One final observation about Sony’s Term’s of Service: it also prohibits attempting (or supporting other’s attempts) to circumvent, reverse engineer, decrypt, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise alter, tamper or interfere with any aspect of the Service. This limitation appears to be in line with the prohibition on “Circumvention of Technological Protection Measures” in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). However, a closer look reveals this prohibition goes beyond the limitations go beyond the DMCA. §1201 of the DMCA prohibits circumventing technological protections in order to access content, as well as prohibiting the manufacture or sale of devices to circumvent such technology. Going a step further, in the Sony’s Term’s of Service an attempt to circumvent any aspect of the Service violates the contract. The user does not have to be circumventing technology to access an eBook, nor does the user have to manufacture or sell a device that assists any kind of circumvention. To put this limitation a bit more simply: a user of an eBook purchased from Sony cannot tamper with the file or DRM protections in any way. Whatever protections are in place–even if they prevent the user from using the file in an otherwise permissible use–must remain.
Hm. Is Amazon’s Terms of Use any more consumer-friendly?
AMAZON
Amazon’s License Agreement and Terms of Use articulate the rights and restrictions of digital content for the Kindle.
Permissions
The permissions granted in the license are not much different from the Sony permissions. Users may view, use, and display Digital Content an unlimited number of times, as long as it is done on an authorized device and is for personal, non-commerical use.
While Amazon’s license does not explicitly mention a possible restriction on the number of times content may be downloaded (as Sony’s agreement does), it does not grant the right to unlimited downloads, either. Only the right to view, use, and display such content is unlimited.
As with Sony, the number of authorized devices is limited to 6. If you wish to share an eBook purchased at the Kindle store, you can only share with a user who has a device that is authorized for your account. The Kindle page and user support does not explicitly state this, but it may be inferred from other’s questions to customer support (documented here and here). However, sharing an authorized account is questionably a violation of restrictions within the license.
Restrictions
Users 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.
These restrictions are almost identical to those mentioned in the Sony Agreement. Additionally, the license prohibits attempts to circumvent (or encourage others to circumvent) DRM protections. As I discussed with the Sony agreement, this restriction goes a step further than the restrictions in the DMCA, as users may not circumvent protections for any purpose, even if the purpose is arguably allowed under current copyright law.
The Amazon license is shorter and appears more to-the-point than Sony’s, which is much longer and contains restrictions on use in multiple places. However, I found Sony’s FAQ section much more helpful than Amazon’s: on the Sony page, answers to sharing eBooks and usage restrictions were addressed in easy-to-understand language, whereas these restrictions were not mentioned on the Kindle site, except for in passing and without any detail. Perhaps Amazon believes that if the restrictions are not explicitly stated, users will not try to find loopholes or circumvent prohibited uses.
Conclusion
Besides the wording and clarity of usage restrictions, both Amazon and Sony offer eBooks with what appears to be almost identical permissible uses. People who purchase an eBook from either store are not technically purchasing the book, but rather licensing it. The license from both stores grants the user the right to view the book an unlimited number of times, although both stores are unclear as to how many times the user may download the book. There are restrictions as to how many devices (computers, e-readers, etc.) may be an offical “authorized” device that can access the licensed eBook. Additionally, all DRM protections on the eBook may not be circumvented or tampered with in any way, even if such circumvention is only to use the book in a matter that may be permitted under the fair use doctrine.
Whew! This is a very technical post, but I’m glad I did it. For my final post for the blog I hope to look at the implications of these licenses, both for personal and for library use.
References
Amazon Kindle: License agreement and terms of use. Amazon.com. Retrieved July 3, 2009 from http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200144530.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, Pub. L. No. 105-304 (1998).
Ebook store from Sony terms of service. The eBook Store from Sony. Retrieved July 3, 2009 from http://ebookstore.sony.com/termsofservice.html.
