Copyrights are in place to prevent folks from COPYING original works of authors, writers, etc without explicit written permission from the author of the work. Publishers get permission via contracts from the author to certain rights towards the work such as to print copies of the books and market/sell them in exchange for royalties, etc. As a rule, those contracts include how and what type of copies can be made and an exclusive to that publisher. In return, that publisher usually will protect that exclusive right to protect themselves and the author.
Once we purchase a printed book, we can do anything we want to it, including giving it away or destroying it. Because we purchased that COPY of the printed book for which the publisher recieved permission from the author to print in exchange for part of the profit for selling that printed book. It would be a bit difficult and time consuming for someone to make a physical copy of a printed book to give to a friend (considering the cost of buying another legal copy) but I suppose it could be done if one wanted to make a point, the not a point I would understand. 
Libraries pay a premium to buy and the right to loan out printed books that are not donated to them.
The only way to give away or loan out an ebook is by making a COPY of it. And it's illegal WITHOUT permission from the author or publisher (as a legal holder of the copyright, limited or otherwise) of the ebook.
The whole "purchasing a lease to read it" rather than owning my copy seems more like a made up reason to explain why one can't make a copy, than the actual reason. I borrow a book to read from the library too, but no one charges me nearly $20 for the priviledge per book unless I return the book in such a state that it has to be replaced.
I own MY copy of the ebook. I do not hit a button that says "rent", I hit a button that says "buy". That does NOT however, give me the right to MAKE A COPY OF THE ebook for any reason other than what the publisher/author has granted, same as for any digital/software purchase! I do not purchase that right with a printed version of the book and it is not a given right with the digital version either unless the author and/or publisher grants it.
Since I can not give or loan the book without making a copy of it, I can't give or loan it without permission. Some publishers give very limited rights to the copy that we purchase. Others are more generous.
WIth the lend me program, we (B&N and the reader) ARE being given permission (by participating publishers/authors) to make a copy to share ONE time for a limited time period to someone not on our account.
For all ebooks we purchase from B&N, we are also allowed to share a book on several devices that are all on the same account. THEN to top it all off, we ARE given the right to make a copy to give to someone in return that we also share our credit card information with that person so they can read it. A right that can be given with some assurance that we aren't likely to share that information with very many people, thus limiting who and how many times we do it.
I don't see this as any severe limitations in sharing ebooks among family members and close friends except those who gripe but don't read posts for solutions before griping, or continue to gripe after post after post gives them the solutions.
You ARE allowed to share your ebooks with ANYONE you want to....as long as you also share your credit card information so they may open and read the ebook. That is entirely up to you and no one is stopping you.
compulsivereaderTX wrote:
You ARE allowed to share your ebooks with ANYONE you want to....as long as you also share your credit card information so they may open and read the ebook. That is entirely up to you and no one is stopping you.
And you don't even have to give them your credit card number. All they have to do is hand you their nook, you put in the number, and give it back to them. They don't have access to the cc number at all. That's what we do with my kids' nook. (We do this because I buy all the books on one account and sideload to their nook. Thaey are only 10, 8, and 4.) As much as I trust my 10 year old, I am not handing him my credit card number. That would just be asking for trouble.
frantastk wrote:
compulsivereaderTX wrote:
You ARE allowed to share your ebooks with ANYONE you want to....as long as you also share your credit card information so they may open and read the ebook. That is entirely up to you and no one is stopping you.
And you don't even have to give them your credit card number. All they have to do is hand you their nook, you put in the number, and give it back to them. They don't have access to the cc number at all. That's what we do with my kids' nook. (We do this because I buy all the books on one account and sideload to their nook. Thaey are only 10, 8, and 4.) As much as I trust my 10 year old, I am not handing him my credit card number. That would just be asking for trouble.
that's what my daughter and I do too. We could share the same account, but prefer not to do so. She is older and has her own family now but reading is one passion we both share. This way we have some privacy over what we are reading. Some things I guess daughters and mothers just don't need to know about each other. 
