The habit of downloading and sharing free ebooks on social networks, forums, or Google Drive has become too familiar to many book lovers. However, this seemingly harmless action has the potential to seriously violate copyright. So, is sharing free ebooks a violation of copyright? Let’s find out with VCD in the article below!
What is an ebook?
An ebook (short for electronic book) is a form of book published in digital form and exists as an electronic file (digital file). Readers can use ebooks through personal devices such as computers, smartphones, tablets or specialized e-readers.
Unlike traditional printed books, ebooks are published and distributed on the Internet, allowing users to buy, download and read right on their devices whether connected or not. Popular ebook formats include EPUB, PDF, MOBI, AZW, TXT…, which are designed to prevent content editing but still allow readers to customize the display interface such as font size, font style, landscape – portrait, compatible with many different screen sizes.
Thanks to their convenience, ebooks are increasingly popular because they can save storage space, cost less than paper books, are easy to shop online and are convenient to carry when traveling.
According to the 2022 Intellectual Property Law, ebooks are still considered a literary work in electronic form, so they are protected by copyright law similar to traditional printed books. This means that ebooks are protected like traditional printed books, including personal rights (naming, title, protecting the integrity of the work) and property rights (copying, distributing, communicating, publishing the work…).
Does sharing free ebooks online violate copyright?
Every work, whether ebook, movie, music or image, is the result of the author’s creative and intellectual labor. Therefore, copying, posting or distributing without permission is a violation.
According to Article 20 of the Intellectual Property Law 2022, the copyright owner has the exclusive right to allow others to perform acts such as copying, distributing, and communicating the work to the public. Therefore, the act of sharing free ebooks online is considered a copyright violation if:
- The ebook is still under copyright protection, that is, during the author’s lifetime and 50 years after the author’s death (as prescribed in Article 27 of the Intellectual Property Law 2022);
- The sharer does not have permission from the author or publisher;
- The ebook is copied, uploaded to social networks, websites, forums or publicly stored (such as Google Drive, Zalo, Telegram…).
For example: Downloading a paid ebook from Tiki or Waka and then reposting it publicly for everyone to download. This behavior is considered an infringement of the right to copy and distribute the work, even if you do not charge money.
On the contrary, cases of sharing ebooks that are considered legal include:
- The ebook is published for free by the author with a clear notice of the sharing rights (For example, released under an open license such as Creative Commons).
- The ebook has expired copyright protection, meaning the work belongs to the public domain.
- You only share the link to a legal publishing site (such as Tiki, Waka, Google Books, or the author’s website), but do not post a copy of the ebook.
Legal consequences of sharing copyrighted ebooks
Sharing copyrighted ebooks is not just an act of “sharing for fun” as many people think, but is actually an infringement of copyright. Depending on the nature and severity of the violation, the perpetrator may be subject to different levels of sanctions.
According to Decree 17/2023/ND-CP, the administrative penalties for copyright infringement are as follows:
- Acts of infringement of the right to distribute works: Fine from 10 – 30 million VND, forced removal of infringing copies of ebooks or destruction of infringing exhibits.
- Acts of infringement of the right to communicate works to the public (posting, sharing ebooks online): Fine from 15 – 30 million VND, forced removal of infringing copies of works.
- Acts of illegal copying of works: Fine from 15 – 35 million VND, and forced removal or destruction of illegal copies.
In addition to fines, violators may also be forced to remove infringing content, publicly apologize, and compensate for civil damages… if they affect the rights and interests of the author or publisher.
Thus, whether for the purpose of sharing, learning or entertainment, posting or spreading copyrighted ebooks without permission carries significant legal risks. The best way to avoid violations is to only read and share ebooks from legal sources, respect the author’s creative efforts, and contribute to building a transparent and copyright-respecting intellectual environment.
Above is the article “Does sharing free ebooks online violate copyright?” shared by VCD to help you better understand the legal consequences and how to use ebooks legally.
Sincerely,
According to Article 25 of the Intellectual Property Law, users can copy a reasonable part of a work for personal study and research purposes without asking for permission and without paying royalties. However, posting an entire ebook online, even for study purposes, is still an act of unauthorized publication, because the content has been communicated to the public. Therefore, you should only quote or use it for personal use, not share it publicly.
Statement of the author’s name and source only shows respect for personal rights, but does not replace asking for permission to use the work. According to Article 20 and Article 28 of the Intellectual Property Law, authors and owners still have the exclusive right to distribute, copy and communicate the work. Therefore, even if you clearly state the source but arbitrarily post the entire ebook online without permission, it is still considered copyright infringement and may be subject to administrative penalties.