Why 'Only Legal E-Books' Is a Feature, Not a Slogan

Any e-book store can be large if it does not ask where its files came from. Choosing to sell only verifiable-rights titles — original works, public domain, documented licenses — is a constraint. It is also the entire point.

What buyers get

Files that are safe: pirate e-book files are a classic malware channel, and 'free' PDFs routinely carry more than the novel. Files that persist: purchases from gray-market stores vanish when the store does, which is often; a legal catalog does not live one takedown notice from oblivion. And quality: legitimate editions are proofread, formatted, and complete — the pirate copy of a classic is frequently a broken OCR of a different edition than advertised.

What authors get

For original and licensed works, revenue flows to whoever holds the rights — which is what keeps new books being written. Even for public-domain titles, legal editions compete on craft (introductions, typography, translation quality) rather than on theft, which pushes the whole market toward better books.

What the store owes you in return

A legal-only promise is checkable. Every title should answer one question on demand: by what right is this sold? Original, public domain with the basis stated, or licensed with the license held on file. That is the standard our content policy codifies, and the standard any store asking for your money should meet.

Cheap and infinite is easy. Legal, safe, and permanent is a feature — the one the others depend on.