Ebooks and a copyright issue/query

[SpringchickenGoldBrass]

A friend of mine wrote a book a few years ago, which was published by a small independent company and is now, as far as we know, out of print.
However, I recently found it on an ebook site, for sale as a download. It's not clear whether it was uploaded by the original publisher or by a Person Unknowbn.
If it's the original publisher, shouldn't they have got in touch with my friend - and shouldn't she be getting a cut of any sales? If it was someone else, should the publisher be informed and is it legal just to upload and sell an ebook that you didn't write or publish yourself?
I know that if you buy a printed book you can then sell it to someone else without having to pay the author/publisher, but an ebook is not the same thing at all.

it depends on who holds the rights I think. wjat did it say in the original contract? if no provision, it should be your friend or her agent depending on contracts. The royalties will depend on the contract with respect to electronic rights, but if she holds them then could well be breach of copyright

is it actually out of print? because if so the rights I believe should have reverted to your friend if OOP in all media (depending on contract)

Sorry I may well have got some of this wrong as it's a long time since I had anything to do with publishing contracts!

It sounds like someone's just chanced their arm, come across it and stuck it up on the web.

Unless you friend signed a contract giving ebook rights to the publisher then I'm fairly sure they can't just bring out an ebook edition with out negotiating with your friend for the rights.

Your friend always owns the copyright on their words. The publisher buys the rights to publish these words in whatever format the contract specifies plus whatever other terms.

They should contact the ebook site (if they can find out who owns it) and ask them to take it down immediately.

(Dislaimer: I'm a librarian, not a publisher so I'm not at all up on contracts, but I do know that ebooks are a bit of a Wild West of copyright breach and lots of stuff goes up based on the assumption that it's unlikely that the rights owner will see it)

you explained it much better than me suzi!

as Suzi says it can be confusing as until just a few years ago provision was rarely made in publishing contracts for ebook rights because of course they didn't exist.

contact the website and contact the original publisher too

@ SpringchickenGoldBrass :- I've heard that loads of books, including expensive technical ones, are available to download free over the internet. Maybe the eBook site you refer to gets books that way and sells them until someone stops them, which isn't going to be easy because the eBook site could be anywhere in the world!

I will tell my mate to speak to the publisher (tricky as she hates them - they fucked her over big time with the second book and didn't promote the first one properly) .
Thanks everyone.