Blurb's Book Preview question

jrong · 07-09-2008

I know that some of you have published books on Blurb and I have just got a book ready myself (of street photographs). I know it'll be good to have the Book Preview function enabled just so people can browse through the book but something I read in Blurb's terms and conditions troubled me a little:

Book Preview

The following additional terms and conditions shall apply only to your use of the ”Book Preview“ feature that Blurb might offer as part of the Blurb Bookstore:

By signing up for the Book Preview function of the Blurb Bookstore, you authorize Blurb to display your Book in a digital format to users of the Blurb Bookstore. Accordingly, your hereby grant Blurb a non-exclusive, worldwide, fully-paid and royalty-free right and license to create digital copies of your Books and reproduce, distribute and publicly display such digital copies, in addition to any licenses that you have granted to Blurb under the Terms and Conditions for the Blurb Services. All provisions of such Terms and Conditions, including, without limitation, the provisions about prohibited content, enforcement by Blurb, and Copyright policy, will also apply to your use to the Book Preview function.

I'm not particularly good with legalese, so I don't exactly know what this means. Does it mean Blurb has the unlimited right to reproduce digital copies of my book, etc. and I am thereby granting them that licence/right by using the Preview function?

Can someone kindly enlighten me? I've left a question on the Blurb forums all day now and haven't got a response yet.

Jin

rogue_designer · 07-09-2008

To me it doesn't sound like you're giving anything away. They just are clearing the air so that you don't later sue them saying they were showing a preview of your book online and that violated your copyright. If they have a store function it means that someone can order your book, and they don't have to check with you each time before printing it for them (profits still go to you).

But I'm not an IP lawyer. So if you're really worried about it. Dig deeper.