I’ll admit it. I’m intrigued by the idea that tons of people might read my blog on their little portable Kindle devices, now that Amazon.com generously offers to publish blogs (for free!). It’s a potent thought to consider how many new readers and untapped sources of potential income might just be waiting for a blog like mine. I feel like I’m channeling my inner Homer Simpson when I think about it – “MMMMMMM. Blog Readers.” (You know, instead of donuts.)

How you might feel after reading this post.

But it’s just like Amazon to make something incredibly seductive and yummy, only to put a few well-placed shards of glass right where you’ll take a big bite.

According to Internet attorney Mike Young, Amazon has included language in its Terms of Service agreement that gives it complete control over your blog content once you publish it on Kindle.

Whoa Nelly!

Really? Amazon thinks it can take a blogger’s hard work and use it, edit it and publish it without attribution or payment to the author? Apparently so. And if you’ve put your blog on Kindle, you may have unknowingly agreed to this.

I’m not an alarmist by nature, but this is something to sit up and take notice of. Remember, this is your intellectual property you’re giving away. As Mike states in this blog post, “If you’re running a non-profit blog where you’re looking for donors for your favorite charity, this could be a good fit because more readers equals more potential donors. However, if your blog is part of your business model, giving Amazon permission to . . . become your competitor using your own content may not make the most sense.”

Good point. Do you really want to compete with Amazon as they use your own words as weapons against you?

I may not be an alarmist, but I am pragmatic. If this is true, I wanted to read it for myself. So I emailed Mike and received a nice response from his assistant Jennifer, along with this link: https://kindlepublishing.amazon.com/vendor/members/kindle-blogs/static/terms-and-conditions.html with the instruction to pay particular attention to the “Grant of Rights” area. Here’s the part that got me:

5.5 Grant of Rights. You hereby grant to each Amazon party, throughout the term of this Agreement, a nonexclusive, worldwide right and license to distribute Publications as described herein, directly and through third-party distributors, in all digital formats by all digital distribution means available, such right to include, without limitation, the right to: (e) use, reproduce, adapt, modify, and create derivative works of and use and distribute, as we determine appropriate, in our sole discretion, any metadata that you provide in connection with Publications;

So, based on this, you publish your blog with Amazon at the risk of seeing your intellectual property elsewhere without your permission, any attribution and any recourse. I’m not certain that’s worth the risk to my business or my reputation.

The lesson for all of us is twofold:

1. Be sure to read and understand the Terms of Service of any agreement (online or otherwise) you decide to enter into.
2. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

I think I’ll wait to put my blog on Kindle. Until blog owners take a stand and confront such blatant thievery, Amazon will continue to do as it pleases with tacit agreement from the blogging community. If this means my blog isn’t exposed as much as it could be, I’m okay with that.

I’d also like to put a plug in for Mike Young (and I get nothing from this except warm fuzzies knowing I’m passing along a credible resource). Mike spends his days mucking around the Internet and championing for individuals and businesses that do business there. You can learn more about him at his website: http://mikeyounglaw.com/internet-lawyer/.

(I love alliteration.)

Warning – long post ahead. But it’s definitely worth reading.

OK, I hadn’t planned on doing a “Part 2″ to the Why I’m Not Putting My Blog Post on Kindle . . . Yet post, but I felt some clarification was in order about exactly what you give away as a blogger by publishing on Kindle. I went back to Mike Young with my request – and I received a quick and detailed response.

Some caveats:

1. I’m not publishing on Kindle now, but that doesn’t mean I never will. I learned a long time ago never to say never. Besides, I hate being left behind.
2. Attorneys tend to err on the side of caution. That’s part of their job – to help us understand the risks we’re embarking upon wittingly or unwittingly.
3. The last post and this one are simply to inform and, perhaps, spark debate. But this will be my last word on the subject – you have to make your own decisions about the level of risk you’re willing to accept, no one can decide that for you. And, whatever you choose, that will be the perfect decision for you. As the well-respected and successful Connie Ragen Green said, “We must not be gripped with fear when it comes to publishing our intellectual property on the Internet. Successful people will continue to publish in this way, so move forward and do not allow this to be an excuse for not taking action.” She’s right. The choice is yours.

With this being said, here’s what Mike Young had to say about the Rights section specifically in the Amazon Kindle blog agreement:

************************************************

Lis,

Let me start out by saying that I’m a big fan of Amazon as both a customer and a vendor. And I do believe that Kindle blogs are ideal for nonprofits and others who don’t rely upon their proprietary blog content to generate income as part of a business model.

That being said, here’s the part of the Amazon Kindle license that does raise issues.

“Grant of Rights. You hereby grant to each Amazon party, throughout the term of this Agreement, a nonexclusive, worldwide right and license to distribute Publications as described herein, directly and through third-party distributors, in all digital formats by all digital distribution means available, such right to include, without limitation, the right to: (a) reproduce and store Publications on one or more computer facilities, and reformat, convert and encode Publications; (b) display, market, transmit, distribute, sell and otherwise digitally make available all or any portion of Publications through Amazon Properties (as defined below), for customers and prospective customers to download, access, copy and paste, print, annotate and/or view online and offline, including on portable devices; (c) permit customers to “store” Publications that they have purchased from us on servers (“Virtual Storage”) and to access and re-download such Publications from Virtual Storage from time to time both during and after the term of this Agreement; (d) display and distribute (i) your trademarks and logos in the form you provide them to us or within Publications (with such modifications as are necessary to optimize their viewing), and (ii) portions of Publications, in each case solely for the purposes of marketing, soliciting and selling Publications and related Amazon offerings; (e) use, reproduce, adapt, modify, and create derivative works of and use and distribute, as we determine appropriate, in our sole discretion, any metadata that you provide in connection with Publications; and (f) transmit, reproduce and otherwise use (or cause the reformatting, transmission, reproduction, and/or other use of) Publications as mere technological incidents to and for the limited purpose of technically enabling the foregoing (e.g., caching to enable display). In addition, you agree that we may permit our affiliates and independent contractors, and our affiliates’ independent contractors, to exercise the rights that you grant to us in this Agreement. “Amazon Properties” means the website with the primary home page identified by the URL http://www.amazon.com/, together with any successor or replacement thereto (the “Amazon Site”), and any other web site, application or online point of presence, on any platform, that is owned or operated by or under license by Amazon or co-branded with Amazon, and any web site, application, device or online point of presence through which any Amazon Properties or products available for sale thereon are syndicated, offered, merchandised, advertised or described. “

Let’s take parts of the poorly drafted license apart piece by piece.

1. “nonexclusive, worldwide right and license to distribute Publications as described herein, directly and through third-party distributors, in all digital formats by all digital distribution means available”

Mike: IIRC, this section actually used to have the word “irrevocable” in it to prevent bloggers from withdrawing their permission. Even if it is now revocable (and that’s not stated), this provision gives Amazon quite a bit of leeway with what the company can do, including giving the blog content to others to distribute.

2. “such right to include, without limitation”

Mike: This is an overly broad and vague description. Amazon is saying the license at least includes what is being listed but may in fact include more than that. How much more? Who knows?

3. “you agree that we may permit our affiliates and independent contractors, and our affiliates’ independent contractors, to exercise the rights that you grant to us in this Agreement”

Mike: So whatever undefined rights are being given to Amazon to blog content with this license, bloggers are also giving those same rights Amazon affilaites, independent contractors, and affiliates’ independent contractors. That’s quite a few people who are getting the right to do stuff with blog content without any real restrictions in place.

4. “create derivative works of and use and distribute, as we determine appropriate, in our sole discretion, any metadata”

Mike: Some people are confused by 5.5(e) that discusses Amazon’s ability to create derivative works out of metadata. By itself, this phrase isn’t of much concern. However, as seen by the other provisions I’ve mentioned in Section 5.5, this isn’t a limitation on what Amazon can do. It is instead an additional right that Amazon is specifically identifying it has.

It’s also unclear under Section 5.4 to what extent bloggers get paid royalties. For sales generated by Amazon and its affiliates, it appears there will be royalties paid to the bloggers. But what about those independent contractors mentioned in Section 5.4? If Amazon contracts with a ghost writer to create a book using blog content, where’s the compensation for the blogger?

Taken together, these raise many unresolved issues as to the scope of the blogger’s license given to Amazon. Then you add in Section 5.6 that states “You acknowledge that we have no obligation to implement technology or other limitations on copying or transfer of any Publication we distribute.”

That’s a recipe for disaster for Kindle bloggers who want to protect ownership of the unique content they create.

The only things “clear” about this license is that (a) the license is too vague and (b) it heavily favors Amazon in the specifics that it does provide.

Best wishes,

Mike