Can Amazon Kindle files be copied from one computer to the next?

[Thomas]

Kindle Version

I feel unsafe publishing a PDF eBook on formats other then the Kindle. Can't they be copied from one computer to the next? Are Kindles a safer way to publish without the fear of people making free copies?

[jmiked]

Kindle ebooks are encoded to only work on a specific Kindle. You can't read them on a computer, nor can you copy them to another Kindle and read them.

I hope you are talking about furnishing your book in the regular Kindle ebook format and not in a PDF or an ebook converted from a PDF. Both of these have proven to be unsatisfactory, for the most part.

Any ebook can be copied if the desire is there and people know where to find the programs to do it. There isn’t anything foolproof. You're going to have to rely on the basic honesty of most people. Even publishing only in print won't prevent piracy, as proven by the availability of the Harry Potter books in ebook format before the printed ones were distributed despite J. K. Rowlings' well-known refusal to allow her work to be furnished as an ebook.

Mike

[geko29]

The file can be copied wherever the hell you want to.  You can put it on an SD card and stick it in your cell phone.  However, unless the DRM is broken (which is illegal but not impossible), that specific file will ONLY ever open in a readable format on the specific Kindle it was purchased for.  Mobipocket is essentially the same format, and thus has the same limitations on its usage.

There are other forms of DRM that behave similarly.  Adobe has one (called digital editions), and cryptix has one called MyScribe.  Both are used quite heavily for textbook distribution.  And if any type of printed material would encourage piracy, it's a $180 book that none of the customers actually WANT to buy and will only be used for 2-4 months.  So they're reasonably safe for the vast majority of potential customers (nothing is unbreakable).

But there are plenty of authors who find great success in selling drm-free books on sites like smashwords.  There are lots of honest readers out there who won't hesitate to buy your stuff if it's priced fairly and is content they're interested in.  Yes, it will be copied and shared around, but the majority of the people who will do so probably wouldn't have purchased a copy anyway.  There's some side benefits to this method as well.  A tiny of percentage of the dirty thieves who never would have bought your stuff to begin with may like what they read (most of them won't read it in the first place, and are just collecting stuff in case they ever decide to), and buy something from you in the future, which makes you money that you never would have seen otherwise.  Additionally, some honest people are vehemently anti-DRM, and will happily buy an unlocked copy of your book, but wouldn't if it were a restricted Kindle, mobi, or PDF.  Again, more "found money".

[Thomas]

The book was formated in all HTML. It was not a converted PDf. It was specifically designed for the Kindle. Nothing seems fool proof, but the prices are so low I would think most people would be honest and buy the kindle books.

[pidgeon92]

Amazon Kindle e-books have DRM and cannot be shared among Kindles. A distributed PDF can be shared among many platforms, but can be password protected, or otherwise protected.

You need to be more explicit about what you mean by "publishing."

FYI, I merged the topics from Let's Talk Kindle and the Book Bazaar together.