Comments on: Ownshelf Helps Readers Share Their Digital Libraries With Friends

By: Marilynn Byerly

Marilynn Byerly — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 21:28:51 +0000

If the books are public domain, no problem, although I question why anyone would share public domain copies when these books are available for free at any number of sites.

eBooks in copyright, however, are a totally different situation because legally they cannot be shared without the express permission of the author/publisher as in the case of the Kindle and Nook loan features.

Since this site isn’t connected with either the Kindle or Nook site and hasn’t made an agreement with publishers/authors, it has no legal right to allow sharing of copyrighted ebooks.

By: Frank Lowney

Frank Lowney — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 21:15:50 +0000

@Marilynn, I don’t see how you can indict this nascent service as infringing or enabling infringement. At least not yet. The full article makes it clear that only real names are allowed and the terms require “ownership” and that, the article says, means public domain. So what’s wrong if these descriptions turn out to be accurate?

By: Marilynn Byerly

Marilynn Byerly — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 14:46:39 +0000

I wondered how long it would take for Teleread to get to this story.

This site is nothing but a pirate site with delusions of grandeur.

Paper books can be shared legally because of The First Sale Doctrine, but, because of their lack of a physical presence, digital books cannot.

In the case of library ebooks and shared ebooks on the Nook and Kindle, the publisher/author AGREES to let their books be shared in this manner. That is the only reason that this kind of sharing is legal.

Nowhere do I see on Ownshelf’s site that there is such an agreement, and the publishing industry certainly hasn’t talked about an agreement.