- As of January 1978, all works of a definite and fixed form -- including ebooks -- are automatically copyrighted for the life of the author and up to 70 years after their death. The owner of an ebook's copyright is the author or their designated representative. Those that purchase an ebook own only the copy of the book that they have purchased. They do not have any rights to the copyright.
- While registering the copyright for an ebook is not required, it is recommended to protect your intellectual property from plagiarism or piracy. It not only publicly establishes your claim to have created the ebook, it also allows you to be able to file infringement lawsuits in court if someone tries to steal, copy or sell it illegally. While registering a copyright can be done at any time once an ebook has been created, you must do it within the first five years in order to establish the copyright's legitimacy.
- As the purchaser of an ebook, you cannot make either digital copies or physical copies and then sell them in order to make a profit. You also cannot buy an ebook and then make copies to distribute for free. Some publishers will allow you to sell an ebook "used" after you have purchased it, but you must follow strict regulations to do so. These include destroying all copies you might have made on any of your personal computers or devices. As these regulations vary between publishers, you should check their policies before trying to sell a used ebook.
- Once you have purchased a copy of an ebook, there are several things you can do with it, without infringing on the copyright. You may copy the digital file to any of your personal computing devices such as your home computer, personal notebook computer or ereader on a smartphone, tablet computer or MP3 player. You can also print out a hard copy to use as personal reference or if it is easier for you to read that way. These copies must remain as your personal files and copies and cannot be distributed to others in any way.
- DRM systems are created by companies to protect their copyrights on ebooks, music files, movie files and other types of digital data. Using digital watermarks or proprietary file encryption, the DRM system helps monitor and track the transference and access of an ebook. Some systems control how many computers and devices the ebook can be copied to, in order to cut down on the possibility of it being taken and used by someone who has not paid for it. DRM systems are a controversial topic, as some people believe they violate "fair use" laws, even though they are backed by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
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