You can also read the Romanian article, here.

Lately, I've noticed a series of "unpleasant" events in the blogosphere. I mean e-book piracy. And to make everything worse, it takes place out in the open, in the shape of giveaways which have pirated books as prizes. I don't want to point fingers, I'll only say I've noticed this on some Romanian book blogs. Maybe even sadder is that participants and sometimes, even giveaway organisers do this sort of things without knowing how wrong the path they are taking is. You already know downloading pirated e-books is illegal. So in the first article of this campaign, I want to make it clear what you can and can't do with an e-book that you have legally purchased.

I bought an ebook. What can/can't I do with it?

You can read it.

Whether on an e-reader, your phone or even your personal computer, as long as you got it through an online book shop (like Amazon, B&N, Smashwords and others). You will notice that some books can be "bought" for free, such as old books in the Public domain, or "freebies" - as free books on special offers are often called.

You can't give it to someone else.

Buying an ebook doesn't give you the same rights that buying a printed copy. For instance, you can lend a printed book to a friend or even give it away if you don't need it anymore. Well, you can't do the same with an ebook. It's not the same thing.

Why? you ask. It's very simple. A quick search on an online book shop will show you that ebooks have much lower prices than printed books. Now, think! If we send the ebook to someone else, both we and the receiver will each have a copy of that book. It's like photocopying a book. In both situations, the author, who has worked hard to write a book for us to enjoy, will not receive any cent.

How to gift someone an ebook

If you liked a book and you want to give its ebook to someone else, the solution is very simple. Online book shops know our needs and they created a system so we can pay for another copy of the e-book and directly gift it to someone else. Of course, this means you have to pay multiple times for the e-book, but it's legal.

In what circumstances can an ebook be the prize of a giveaway?

As I mentioned before, the ebook can be directly gifted through the special options online book shops have. But there is another way that doesn't require a second purchase of the book. This means getting permission from the author or the publishing house. It is usually the case of book reviewer bloggers. How it's done? Simple! Authors usually have a personal blog or a website with a contact page. This way, you can send them a private message, in which you tell them who you are and explain to them that you want to organise a giveaway. Then, ask them if they would accept to give the winner an ebook. You can also receive an ebook in exchange for a review in the same way. It's simple, and more importantly, legal.

Another way would be to participate in book tours. The companies which organise them can be paid by authors or editors and can often offer you an ebook version of the promoted book: in exchange for a review or a giveaway for your blog. An example of such companies would be  Black Lion Tours or Xpresso Book Tours.

DO NOT:

• download pirated books


• offer someone the ebooks you bought without permission from the author or the publishing house, or without buying a special copy for each of the friends you want to gift the e-book


• promote piracy! If you see people who do that, show them the right way!