kimmy Posted July 28, 2009 Report Posted July 28, 2009 In a surreal turn of events, "Big Brother" has deleted copies of George Orwell's 1984 from Kindle e-book reading devices. Customers who purchased the book in e-book format from Amazon.com to read on their Kindle e-book reader device discovered, to their astonishment, that their purchased copies had vanished without a trace. The problem, apparently: Amazon made a mistake regarding regional licenses: they didn't have the right to sell the book (as well as "Animal Farm") in the United States. Upon learning of the mistake, Amazon decided to simply delete the books from their customers' Kindle devices, and-- --wait a minute... they can just go into your own Kindle and delete stuff that you already bought!? Apparently they can, a discovery that has many Kindle customers startled at the lack of security of stuff they've paid for, as well as giving many prospective customers second thoughts about purchasing Kindle units after-all. Apparently, it's technologically possible for them to do so. And, apparently, they're willing to use that power, despite the strong possibility that it appears to violate their own License Agreement. Amazon has apologized profusely, and promises to do better in the future. But how can they win back the trust they've lost in this, and how can they reassure consumers that the same thing won't happen in the future? Overall, it's an incredibly dumb misstep that could do serious harm to a device that had been starting to build some momentum. -k Quote (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ Friendly forum facilitator! ┬──┬◡ﾉ(° -°ﾉ)
lily Posted July 28, 2009 Report Posted July 28, 2009 THey didn't have the right to sell the book in the US... but their own license agreement would trump that? I don't think so. Quote I'll rise, but I won't shine.
DogOnPorch Posted July 28, 2009 Report Posted July 28, 2009 Hugs his Penguin Classics collection a little closer... Quote Nothing cracks a turtle like Leon Uris.
kimmy Posted July 28, 2009 Author Report Posted July 28, 2009 THey didn't have the right to sell the book in the US... but their own license agreement would trump that?I don't think so. Whether they had the right to sell the book or not, they appear to have broken their own agreement with their customers. The license says your digital copy is permanent, which would seem to preclude them having a right to go back and delete it, whatever their issue with the publisher. If they'd accidentally sold hard-copy books to customers in a region where they weren't licensed to sell them, sneaking into customers' homes and taking the book back wouldn't have been an option. They'd have had to have come up with some alternative, such as providing financial compensation to the publisher. And, I'd suggest that for the amount of damage this gaffe will to future Kindle sales and future E-book sales, Amazon would have been financially a lot smarter to write the publisher a big cheque and say "we're really sorry." -k Quote (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ Friendly forum facilitator! ┬──┬◡ﾉ(° -°ﾉ)
Riverwind Posted July 28, 2009 Report Posted July 28, 2009 (edited) --- Edited July 28, 2009 by Riverwind Quote To fly a plane, you need both a left wing and a right wing.
kimmy Posted July 29, 2009 Author Report Posted July 29, 2009 --- Riverwind's comments have been sponsored by Amazon Kindle! It's like having a library in your purse! A revolutionary technology that gives you the freedom to --- -k Quote (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ Friendly forum facilitator! ┬──┬◡ﾉ(° -°ﾉ)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.