Amazon recently threatened the smackdown on a site offering instructions on how to trick the Kindle into reading other types of files. This isn't a question of copyright infringement, it's a question of control.
Amazon invoked the decade-old Digital Millenium Copyright Act, or DMCA, as proof of the wrongdoing of a Russian hacker who discovered a way to view non-proprietary files on the Kindle. Interestingly, they went after a site that provided instructions on how to use the hack, rather than the personal site where the software is actually hosted. The software, kindlepid.py, allows e-books purchased legally from other stores to play nice with the Kindle, which admittedly screws Amazon's gameplan a bit. But should Amazon really be able to sue someone for increasing the functionality of their device? We're conflicted. [Mobile Read via CNET]