Ebook Copyright
You hold copyright in your book from the moment you write it, and in the US it lasts until 70 years after your death. Registering it adds recourse rather than creating the right. Ebooks and print books share most of that protection; where they part company is the first sale doctrine, which governs what a buyer may do with the copy they bought.
What copyright covers
Copyright sits inside intellectual property law, alongside patents, trademarks and trade secrets. It covers original creative work: music, art, design, writing.
The creator holds the copyright to that work until 70 years after their death, and for that period nobody else may reproduce, sell or use it without authorisation. You can register it for increased recourse and legitimacy; the application is straightforward and the fee low compared with what a patent costs.
There are limits. Fair use allows protected work to be used for educational or journalistic purposes. And a copyright holder can license their work for a fee or a royalty percentage, or simply grant permission.
Why ebooks are different from print
When books existed only on paper, copyright dealt with them fairly simply. A publisher could not print and distribute an author’s work without permission, and illegal copying was limited by physics: you needed a printing press, real money per copy, and a location that law enforcement could find.
The first sale doctrine then establishes that whoever buys a copy may lend it, sell it, or otherwise do as they like with that copy. It is the basis of second-hand bookshops and lending libraries.
A digital file breaks the assumption underneath it. A print copy passed to someone else leaves the first person’s hands. A digital copy is reproduced, not moved, so “selling your copy” means something different, and the doctrine no longer maps cleanly onto what is happening. That is the unresolved part, and it is why ebook licensing terms often look nothing like owning a book.
Generally, using copyrighted work without permission can result in litigation and penalties, and the exposure is greatest where a profit is made or where the original loses value because it has become easy to obtain free.
Originally published on eBookStage in November 2020 as “Copyright Law and E-books”, by Tori Lutz. Edited for length and structure; the substance is hers. General information about US law as described in 2020, not legal advice. For a decision that matters, ask a lawyer.
Common questions
- Do I need to register a copyright?
- You hold the copyright without registering. Registration gives you increased recourse and legitimacy if you need to enforce it, through a straightforward online application and a low fee compared with a patent.
- How long does copyright last?
- For a work by an individual in the US, until 70 years after the creator's death. During that time nobody may reproduce, sell or use the work without authorisation.
- What is the first sale doctrine?
- It establishes that somebody who buys a copy of a work may lend, sell or otherwise dispose of that particular copy. It is why second-hand bookshops and libraries are lawful.
- Why is that different for ebooks?
- A print copy is a physical object that moves from one person to another. A digital copy is reproduced rather than moved, which is where the doctrine stops fitting cleanly, and that is still being worked out.
- Can anyone use my work without permission?
- Fair use allows protected work to be used for educational or journalistic purposes. Beyond that you can license the work for a fee or royalty, or grant express permission.
- What happens if someone infringes?
- Using copyrighted work can lead to litigation and penalties, particularly where a profit is made or the original is devalued because it has become easy to get free.