In the fine print that you "agree" to, Amazon and Sony say you just get a license to the e-books—you're not paying to own 'em, in spite of the use of the term "buy." Digital retailers say that the first sale doctrine—which would let you hawk your old Harry Potter hardcovers on eBay—no longer applies. Your license to read the book is unlimited, though—so even if Amazon or Sony changed technologies, dropped the biz or just got mad at you, they legally couldn't take away your purchases. Still, it's a license you can't sell.

But is this claim legal? Our Columbia friends suggest that just because Sony or Amazon call it a license, that doesn't make it so. "That's a factual question determined by courts," say our legal brainiacs. "Even if a publisher calls it a license, if the transaction actually looks more like a sale, users will retain their right to resell the copy." Score one for the home team.

There's a kicker, though: If a court ruled with you on that front, you still can't sell reproductions of your copy, an illegal act tantamount to Xeroxing your Harry Potters. You'd have to sell the physical media where the "original" download is stored—a hard drive or the actual Kindle or Sony Reader. Our guess is that it only gets more complicated from here. What happens when the file itself resides only on some $20-per-month Google storage locker?

For more details, have a look at the original, surprisingly readable legal summary:

The (Potential) Legal Validity of E-book Reader Restrictions By Rajiv Batra, John Padro, Seung-Ju Paik and Sarah Calvert

Many users are unhappy that e-book readers, such as the Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle, restrict the sharing, borrowing and transferring of e-books. While some argue that the "first sale" doctrine should allow users to transfer an e-book in the same manner as a hard-copy book, these contentious restrictions may be valid under current law.

The Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle

The Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle are portable media devices designed to carry and display e-books and other electronic documents. Kindle has a mobile broadband function that allows users to browse online content and download e-books while on the go. Alternatively, the Sony Reader requires users to download and manage their library of e-books via a home computer.

The contentious characteristic of both products is that they bar users from sharing their e-books with other users. For example, Kindle's license agreement grants a "non-exclusive right to keep a permanent copy...solely for your personal, non-commercial use." Consequently, Kindle users may "not sell, rent, lease, distribute, broadcast, sublicense or otherwise assign any rights to...any third party." The Sony Reader has similarly restrictive language in its license, but does allow users to copy e-books to several other Readers as long as they are registered to the same account.

The First Sale Doctrine

Some users have argued that these license restrictions violate the "first sale" doctrine. Under the Copyright Act, the first sale doctrine allows the owner of a particular copy of a work to sell, lease or rent that copy to anyone they want at any price they choose. These rights only apply, however, to the particular copy that was purchased; any unauthorized reproduction or copying of that work constitutes copyright infringement. For instance, you can't give away photocopies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but you can auction your paperback on eBay when you're finished with it.

When it comes to digital works, however, two complications arise: first, consumers might only hold a license to the content, rather than all of the rights that come from a sale; second, without a traditional physical container for each purchased work, consumers may not practically be able to sell their "particular copy" at all.

License vs. Sale

The first sale doctrine only applies to the "owner" of a copy of a work, so end users who acquire content by license do not enjoy the right to resell their copies. Whether a transaction is a license or a sale is a factual question determined by courts—even if a publisher calls it a license, if the transaction actually looks more like a sale, users will retain their right to resell the copy. However, as more commercial transactions involve the transfer of digital content—particularly commercial software—courts have struggled to consistently make the distinction between license and sale. Software is increasingly transferred with highly restrictive licensing terms, but federal case law has not clearly determined whether these types of transfers are licenses or true sales.

Kindle and the Sony Reader are following this licensing trend and creating restrictive licenses that users must agree to upon using the product. If these agreements are found to be enforceable licenses, they could serve as the legal authority to limit users from selling or otherwise transferring the e-books they download.

Amazon vs. Sony

Both license schemes are equally restrictive, but each product limits use in a slightly different manner. Amazon Kindle's use license expressly limits the extent and use of both the device and the digital media. The Sony Reader's restrictions operate in two steps: a license to use the device and a second license to use the e-book library software (created by Sony). In both devices, users are not allowed to circumvent or alter the pre-installed software on the device.

For digital media, Kindle's agreement allows users one permanent copy. The Reader, on the other hand, allows one user to posses multiple copies as long as they are all registered to that user. Both regimes are equally restrictive on the distribution, copying, and sharing of purchased e-books (to other users).

The reason for the differences in these restrictions is a result of their technical characteristics. Amazon's wireless store requires the terms to be agreed on initially, while the Sony Reader's reliance on iTunes-like software allows a separate use agreement. In effect, both agreements accomplish the same level of restriction, but you have a little more leeway with the number of copies with the Sony Reader.

Hard Copies vs. Digital Copies

Another possible complication stems from the inherent difference between transferring an e-book and transferring a hard-copy book. The transfer of a hard-copy book is just that; the physical transfer of one copy. The transfer of an e-book, however, requires the digital recreation or copying of that e-book. Because the first sale doctrine allows transfers of only your particular copy, and not reproductions or recreations, a digital transfer of an e-book is probably impermissible. Thus, users of Kindle and the Sony Reader can only legally transmit works by selling the physical media on which they are stored—be that the e-book readers themselves or the users' hard drives.

While the restrictions on e-books may initially seem inconsistent with the rights granted for hard-copy books, these differences are the consequence of new digital products outgrowing traditional copyright doctrines. Such issues are currently being examined by legal scholars and industry insiders, but only time will tell whether this degree of control over digital media is acceptable to society.

I understand the Kindle. Book reading is always a one-on-one activity, and there is more or less only one way to experience a book—from a rectangular object in your hand. An e-book reader that's PC-free, connected directly to the book source, is even smarter than an MP3 player or phone that's connected to a music store, because music ends up all over the place, while books will always stay in your lap.

People bitch about a lack of Wi-Fi, but as a fan of wide-area wireless, I think Sprint's EV-DO was a good way to go, because it's available in more places. And as far as the lack of backlight, I am inclined to believe the messaging from both Amazon and Sony, that E-Ink is easier on the eyes than anything backlit, and that long battery life is more important. I used the Kindle regularly without charging for four days straight before it completely crapped out just this morning.

As for the criticism about document and e-book format compatibility, I suspect these problems will work themselves out over time, as the Kindle's Linux platform is surely easy to enhance through software. At any rate, you already know many of the issues, so there's no point rehashing them here, especially when much of it is a matter of personal preference.

No, none of these theoretical concerns were in my mind as I read using the Kindle this week, but that's not to say I didn't uncover some issues. Here's what I discovered this week while reading a book on Kindle—Heat by Bill Buford— that I was already halfway through in its old-world hardcover paper form:

In Bed:
• Next Page buttons on both sides mean tremendous comfort in bed. No matter which hand you are holding the Kindle in, you can easily turn the page, and if you have it sitting on the bed next to you, you can even tap the large button on the right with a finger or your elbow.

• Since it's much larger than a hardcover or even a trade paperback, you can hold it without tiring out your arm, or needing to use your leg to prop it up.

• Normally when reading in bed, you have to shift positions when you turn the page, especially when at the beginning or end of a large book. Since the Kindle only displays one page at a time, and doesn't have a shifting weight of pages from one side to the other, you can pick a position and stick to it.

• I have a lamp next to my bed for reading old-school printed books; it works just as well with Kindle.

In the Air:
• EV-DO isn't available everywhere, or even at all airports. The one I flew out of only provided a paltry 1X signal, and it took me about five minutes to download the current issue of The Atlantic Monthly.• Speaking of The Atlantic, text-heavy weeklies and monthlies really are the target. Newspapers are a problem, because the editions that appear on Kindle are already outdated by their own websites, so newshounds would get frustrated. The lineup of magazines needs to grow, though. I won't be happy until The Economist and The New Yorker appear on the menu. (I may come from the Great Red State of Indiana, but I prefer my current events smart and a little left-leaning. But while we're at it, Amazon, a Guns N' Ammo Kindle Edition might be nice too.)

• Once aboard, FAA regulation required that I not use the Kindle at takeoff and landing. Though obvious, this pissed me off because that's when I always read on planes, before iPod time kicks in and I have the option of a movie.

• There's a handy switch to shut off the cellular data modem, and prove to the flight attendants you're no rule-breaker.

• The onboard Oxford New American Dictionary is good but not great with proper nouns. It picked up "Romanesque" but did not get "Florentine," for instance. And Wikipedia, which would have more elaborate data on both, is of no use when you're airborne.• Private reading lights have been part of the airplane experience since time immemorial. No backlighting on e-book readers means this glorious tradition will continue.

On the Toilet:
• Friction rubber grip makes it okay to set down on the side of your sink or back of toilet without it slipping. We have a porcelain pedestal sink in one bathroom that anything without a grip would slide off of—and smash on the floor.• Buttons on both sides of the Kindle mean that it's sometimes hard to grip it securely and not press a button. I were to hypothetically make a mad dash to the toilet, Kindle in hand, I would risk flipping a bunch of pages on the way and losing my place.

Other usage discoveries:
• As I mentioned, the battery lasted four full days of regular use, mostly with the EV-DO switch turned on. (It probably would have run much longer if I had left it off.) When your battery gets low, you get the error message below, but shutting down EV-DO that late in the game does nothing to conserve battery life, which died 5 minutes after I saw this. Charging is quick though—juice it for 15 or 20 minutes and it's good to go for a while.• I never turned the thing off, either: when you leave it alone for a few minutes, it turns to a keylock screen with a pretty picture or a promotional tip (see gallery below—I've shot 8 so far, but there are tons of 'em). You click and hold the Alt and font-size buttons to release it.
• I will never understand the magical technology behind the shiny LCD bar on the right. It is sooo pretty I sometimes do stuff just to watch it jump around. Very unique in this copycat-heavy CE universe.• The leather case is good for protecting and carrying around without hitting buttons (see "On the Toilet"), but it is totally lame when you are trying to read. Slip it out and hide the case until you are ready to move again.

• The Highlight clipping tool is too primitive to be cool. You can only highlight a line at a time, so your clippings, particularly when viewed by themselves, look ugly and confusing. Anything you highlight is automatically saved in My Clippings, where all of your Clippings, from all publications, are lumped together.• In natural settings, I never used the web browser. I surf the web a-plenty in my daily life, and while I'm reading, I'm just not thinking about dot coms.

• The keyboard does have a bit of a lag, as we reported, but that's not too problematic. My biggest problem is the spacebar, hidden on the left side. Little known trivia: As it turns out, I SPACE with my right hand.• Footnotes are weird. I was reading a David Foster Wallace piece that, like most of his work, was riddled with footnotes, and each time I had to click it to see the note, which could get annoying. Same goes for Colbert's book I Am America.

• My wife likes it. OK, so you weren't curious about that, maybe, but she's a voracious reader and she generally turns her nose up at most of the gadgets that arrives at our doorstep. With the Kindle, though, she got excited. She picked it up and started reading the Atlantic Monthly, saying how "amazing" it was that Amazon got the magazine's formatting right, and how pleasant the E-Ink was to read.

• In the end, looks mattered least of all. Even though my wife thinks it looks like a "medical device," it was not a turn off. I think people underestimate its wedgey coolness, while overestimating the impact that would have. Bezos said you don't look at the thing, you look at the book within—maybe he was anticipating a hazing from the Style Police, but I think he's right. I just read my damn book.

My verdict is that a connected e-book reader was what the world needed, and as long as Amazon's library expands to encompass every book I want to read, I see no reason why I should be upset that I have to buy it from them. Yes, $399 is expensive, but that's likely to drop, and the more market-resistant $9.99 book price hits a Jobsian sweet spot.

Having lived with the Kindle, I can say that it serves most of my immediate reading needs. As a guy who enjoys amassing a vast library of books and displaying them in bookcases, I am a little frightened of the future, but inevitability is the name of the game, and fear of change isn't a good enough excuse. Will I continue to buy books or will I jump into Amazon book buying mode? That remains to be seen, but you, o early adopter, should not share my fears. The Kindle is a quality invention, and I can see why the first batch sold out so fast. [More Kindle Coverage from Giz; Amazon.com]

Take a look at the screen shots:• How long was initial powerup? 4 seconds (but our demo unit may have been booted up before).

• How long does it take to turn pages? One second or less.

• How comfortable is it to hold? Very comfortable. It's nice and light. It feels right in the crease of your hand, between the thumb and forefinger. The downside is that it's very easy to hit the Next Page key accidentally.

• How easy is it to use the scroll wheel? Easy and intuitive.

• Can you change the font size everywhere? No. You can change the fonts of books, but when attempting to alter the size of text on the home screen, we got a message that said "Sorry, you can only change the size of text while reading content." It doesn't say you can change the font setting globally, either.

• How responsive is the keyboard? Turns out, not very responsive. It sometimes takes a second after you type the key for the letter to appear. (Good thing there's no text-messaging app?) Placement of the Delete key is awkward because it's directly above the Enter key, and it's easy to confuse the two.

• What does the connection cost monthly? Nothing. And in case you are curious, the EV-DO service is from Sprint, not Verizon Wireless.

• What happens when you connect your Kindle to a PC or Mac? It goes into USB Drive Mode and shows the contents of the Kindle. Here's what we saw when we plugged in:Can you transfer documents straight to the device? In our testing, we only got MP3s to show up when we transferred them via USB. PDFs, RTFs, and JPEGs did not appear when we copied them to the Documents folder on the Kindle. But according to the online manual, you should be able to transfer any Kindle-compatiable file via USB.

• How do you convert files? Once you have set up your approved e-mail addresses at www.amazon.com/manageyourkindle, you need to send JPEGs, Word docs and other files (but NOT PDFs!) to your Kindle e-mail address from your standard address. But guess what: a SMALL FEE of 10 cents will be applied per e-mail attachment, so careful with that. When we tested, our conversion of one JPEG and one Word doc took about 20 minutes all said and done.

• Can I backup and store the books on my PC? Yes. We downloaded a book, and then copied it to the Mac and deleted it from the Kindle. We checked and it was definitely gone from the Kindle. And when we copied it back over from the Mac, it appeared again. Of course, Amazon recommends deleting books to save room, but downloading them from the cloud when you need them, rather than storing them on your PC. But at an average of 300-400KB, you shouldn't really have a problem storing tons in your personal virtual warehouse.

• Can I read the books stored on my PC? So far, "no," but that could change. The files are in a .azw format and we don't have a .azw reader. Do you? Either way, it's probably an easy thing to cook up for Windows and Macs, so maybe it'll happen. But why would Bezos want you reading his $9.99 downloads on your shiny laptop? There are economic reasons why this might not happen.

• What is the SD card slot for? As far as we can tell, the SD is mainly for extended storage. It is easy to send stuff from the Kindle to SD, but it's not evident how you can move documents off of SD and onto the Kindle.

• What's the deal with the dictionary? Inside the Kindle is the Oxford American Dictionary, but you can only look up words that you run across while reading—you can't just type them in. Also, you can eventually download preferred dictionaries, and select which one you want to be primary.

• Can I browse the web on this thing? Since the EV-DO service is free, we suspected that the answer is "no." But it turns out, you CAN browse the web! Something called "Basic Web" browsing available in the "Experimental" section of the menu, along with "Play Music" and "Ask Kindle NowNow."

• How do graphics look on the web? There are two web modes. Default mode lets you see text but pictures come in tiny and hard to see. Advanced mode displays the web page the way you'd expect on a normal browser, but it cuts off text and is harder to manage.
Default browser mode:
Advanced browser mode:•How do you play music? The "Play Music" feature is in the Experimental page (Menu>Experimental). So far we can only play MP3s on it, and with no metadata on the screen. The songs just play. AAC was attempted and apparently doesn't work. (You can also click Alt-P to play music when you are in another part of the reader.)

• What file formats are supported? Kindle (.azw), text (.txt), unprotected Mobipocket (.mobi, .prc), Audible (.aa) and MP3 (.mp3).

• How long did it take to search for a particular book? In our test, it took 12 seconds.

• How long was the actual download? The download was nearly instantaneous—there's a bit of sleight-of-hand because when you click "buy," it takes you to the "OK" screen and then after that you go to the home screen to see the list of titles you own (in your Amazon.com Kindle account). By the time we checked the home screen, the book was downloaded. We believe the 60-second statement, but we'll see if we can clock this stuff on average (without going broke!!!).

• What's in the library, aka Kindle Book Store? There are already plenty of books, 90,000 in all, including 101 of the current NYT bestsellers. Don't believe us? See for yourself at the Amazon Kindle Store.

• Will it be available at brick and mortar? Probably not, at least not yet. Bezos only said available at Amazon, and we doubt Barnes & Noble is begging to sell.

• Is the screen really "easy on the eyes"? We say yes. It's definitely mellower than a laptop, though the screen's sharpness isn't as great, so that might bother some people.

• Can you underline text? Not exactly, but you can "highlight" which places a thin box around the text you want to call out, so in a sense, you are doing the same thing. You can also add margin notes to specific passages.

• How does it compare to the Sony Reader? We haven't done a comparison of our own yet, but Gadget Lab did one that you can read here.

[Giz Kindle Coverage]

The Sony Reader is one of those quirky products that attracted reviewers originally because it was unique. The E-Ink screen was very easy to read, in spite of a lack of back lighting. And the idea of an iPod/iTunes system for books made sense. Or did it? Books from the Connect store were terribly expensive, and there was too much pressure to own digital titles, rather than rent them out, like a for-pay library model. How does doubling the book capacity help with that?

I'd hate to pronounce the new Reader DOA. (Heck, it might never arrive, since the listing and photos were pulled from the retailer's site after the post went up.) But while it's nice to know Sony is trying to tweak the formula, I'm just not sure the formula itself is worth the chalk. [Wowio via Gadget Lab]

Plus, you get 50 bucks' worth of free e-books at Sony's iTunes-like store when you sign up. Such a dealio. Take a look at Brian's exclusive report and pics, tells the tale. Sign us up. – Charlie White

There is some unfortunate news that was learned from this Q&A: the Sony Reader will only be available in the U.S., and no, there still isn't a release date. Hit the link to learn everything and more about this highly anticipated device. – Travis Hudson

Sony Reader questions answered by Sony Reader Team [Mobileread]

The e-paper version would be viewable on devices such as the iLiad E-reader and a forthcoming reader from Sony that is compatible with a new underlying technology that electrically charges embedded ink, causing it to light up or go dark. The e-reader devices, which can only display several shades of gray, should weigh around 13 ounces and can be updated via Wi-Fi connections. The rules of economics still apply and because these devices haven't quite hit it big yet, they'll be a little on the pricey side, running around $400, but they'll also be able to download e-books and podcasts.

One Day Soon, Straphangers May Turn Pages With a Button [New York Times]