Is this eBay ad legal? Publishers should fight commercial e-book piracy before e-books catch on

While large publishers love DRM, it won’t get in the way of commercial pirates. The sleazes will either scan in paper books or crack the so-called “protection.”

Perhaps giants such as Bertelsmann should focus right now on something else—suing the devil out of for-profit pirates and trying to nip the problem in the bud. Publishers could also fight piracy by tearing down the Tower of eBabel and avoiding onerous DRM to make legal alternatives more convenient to buy and use.

“Full resale rights”—for 95 cents

In the case of an outfit doing business under the names of USLINKX LoMart STORE and NetBookz, I’ll not make a piracy accusatation for the moment. I need to know more. Besides, I myself like the idea of people being able to resell e-books under the first sale doctrine if suitable precautions are in place and there are no legal obstacles. That said, however, this Da Vinci Code ad on eBay bears investigation. Um, is the best-seller really for sale legally at 95 cents? And would the publisher really allow “full resale rights,” the phrase used in the ad? Where’d USLINX get the e-book file or files? From how many owners? What did the original terms of the sales–required by which legal e-bookstores?–say? And what’s the extent of eBay’s liability here?

Assuming a crime is happening, the perps are right out in the daylight, and I don’t just mean their open use of eBay. USLINX-LoMart-Store has even distributed a news release via PRWeb. However, it would appear that NetBookz, promoted in the release, does not even have a site up yet, just a parked domain, now associated with ads for such wonderful services as online gambling.

For-profit pirates not a problem now, but watch out ahead

I know. E-book piracy isn’t currently a big revenue-drainer. But it will get worse, much worse, as hardware improves. Publishers should act now to make life hell for hucksters selling pirated wares in places such as eBay. I thought Meg Whitman and friends had set up a system to screen out pirates. If I were Dan Brown or a Doubleday lawyer, I’d give the USLINX ad and the people behind it a good look.

Rx: Suit if the facts justify

Sue if the facts warrant; make an example. Publishers, you’ll never wipe out all piracy, but these guys, if guilty, are begging for legal action. We’re talking about a visible enterprise seeking publicity. The news release says: “First Online Previously-Read Book Rental Store Planned USLINX.com Site Will Offer Unprecedented Title Selection, Availability And Convenience.”

There is one exception I’d make. Maybe the UNLINX people are hicks unfamiliar with copyright, in which case Doubleday might cut them a little slack. But not much. You don’t have to be Oliver Wendell Holmes reincarnated to at least wonder about a best-seller sold for 95 cents on eBay with “FULL RESALE RIGHTS.” Yep, you, too, can sell the Code to Hollywood for a multi-million-dollar sequel, no?

The Blackmask situation:

If blatant piracy is going on, is there a parallel with Blackmask–which Conde Nast shut down after accusing owner David Moynihan of piracy? While hoping mightily that David M. would not go out of business, I found his legal arguments to be problematic. I’m not a lawyer, but that was the consensus of others as well. Regardless, David was performing a real service to the Net with his distribution of classics. I miss Blackmask. Too bad that he and Conde Nast could not settle their differences amicably. David could have helped the sales of the Doc Savage series and other disputed works.

Reminder: Illegal mass distribution of content is a far, far cry from fair use among friends or family. Also, let’s keep in mind the need for commonsense. I most assuredly hope that publishers won’t imitate the RIAA and, say, go after 12 year olds in public housing projects. Imagine the ridicule the publishers would invite if they took “Get Caught Reading” the wrong way.

Related: ‘Do you know where to find illegal e-book content?’ and ‘My Cellphone As My E-Book Reader’ (and how Sony will unwittingly help e-book pirates).