When you purchase a Kindle book you are not the owner of that book, nor are you the owner of the file that contains the digital copy of the book’s content. When you purchase a Kindle book you have entered into a terms-of-use agreement that is effectively a licensing agreement with Amazon or the book publisher.
According to Amazon’s Kindle Store Terms of Use agreement: ”The Content Provider grants you a non-exclusive right to view, use, and display such Kindle Content an unlimited number of times, solely through a Reading Application or as otherwise permitted as part of the Service, solely on the number of Supported Devices specified in the Kindle Store, and solely for your personal, non-commercial use. Kindle Content is licensed, not sold, to you by the Content Provider. The Content Provider may include additional terms for use within its Kindle Content.” (The content provider mentioned above is typically Amazon or the book publisher.)
Is it legal to download free Kindle books?
Yes, it is legal to download free books from the Kindle Store. These books are governed by the same agreement as all other books in the Kindle Store, you just don’t have to pay for them.
What are some things that the Kindle license forbids me from doing?
Under the Kindle license agreement you cannot sell, rent, lease, distribute, broadcast, or sublicense or assign the rights of the Kindle content to any third party.
You also can not bypass, modify, defeat, or circumvent the digital rights management system or other protection on the Kindle content.
Lastly, you cannot have more than 6 copies of the book downloaded to devices or app at any one time. If you attempt to download a copy book to a seventh device you’ll get a “license limit exceeded” warning, and the book will not download. If you have reached the license limit for a book you can simply go to the area on Amazon where you manage your devices https://www.amazon.com/gp/digital/fiona/manage and then remove some of your old devices or those devices you no longer use. Once removed, they will no longer count as a device with downloaded books.
How many downloaded copies of a Kindle book can be simultaneous devices?
Typically you can have 6 copies of a book downloaded to your various devices. But the number can varies from book to book and for some books the number is unlimited. You can find that information in the product details section on each book’s detail page. See screen shot below:
Can Amazon revoke my access to the Kindle Books I purchased?
Yes, they can if you violate the terms of use.
Can I share my Kindle books with others?
Yes, you can lend eligible books to others for up to 14 days. See How to Lend a Kindle Book.
You can also share books with family members using Amazon Family Library. This program requires you to set up a household prior to sharing. Read more about Amazon Family Library
How can I get more clarification on Kindle Terms of Use policy?
If you want more clarification on Kindle Terms of Service, you can contact Amazon customer service at www.amazon.com/contact-us/ (or by email at kindle-cs-support@amazon.com). Or you write to Amazon, Attn: Legal Department, P.O. Box 81226, Seattle, WA 98108-1226.
