Opinion: Amazon is right not to offer public domain books | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home:
"The decision by Amazon not to offer public domain books has caused some angst in the ebook community, but from the perspective of a corporate lawyer I think it is the correct decision, at least for now. Don’t forget that Amazon can be sued, and even be subject to criminal charges, if it violates the copyright laws. One suit against Amazon could easily eat up any of the fees Amazon would collect for public domain books for years to come. These things are extremely expensive to defend – costs in the millions are commonplace. Many plaintiff’s lawyers work on a contingency basis and only get paid if they win or force a settlement, so while Amazon is paying millions in defense fees the plaintiff is able to bring the suit almost for free. (Why do you think there are so many class actions suits over relatively trivial matters.)"
Thursday, September 24, 2009
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