Where to Download Free Ebooks Illegal in 2023

June 24, 2023

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A lot of online users want to know where to download free ebooks illegal to avoid spending on ebooks. But do you know that this act can affect authors and publishers?

Downloading pirated copies of an ebook is illegal and attracts a lot of risks, which will be mentioned in this article. As an ebook lover, you need to know the sites to avoid when downloading ebooks online.

In this article, we enlighten you on the risks attached to downloading pirated ebooks, sites to avoid when downloading ebooks, sites to download free ebooks legally, and ways to protect your ebooks from piracy.

What are Illegal Ebook Download Sites?

Illegal Ebook Download Sites are websites that provide links or host copyright-protected ebooks without permission from the author or publisher.

Downloading from these sites is illegal and not different from stealing a book from a store.

Where Can I Download Free Ebooks Illegal?

Note: World Scholars Hub does not support downloading illegal or pirated ebooks.

We provided a list of illegal ebook download sites, so you know the websites to avoid when downloading ebooks.

A lot of internet users can be ignorant of where they download ebooks for free. So, it is possible you don’t know you are downloading ebooks from illegal sites.

Below is a list of websites to download free ebooks illegally (avoid them):

4Shared.com
Uploaded.net
Bookos.org
Rapidshare.com
Esnips.com
Uploading.com
Mediafile.com
Hotfile.com
Megaupload.com

Apart from illegal ebook download sites, there are other platforms that support ebook piracy by providing links to where you can download ebooks illegally.

For instance, Reddit. Reddit has several forums that provide links to sites you can download pirated ebooks. Avoid these forums.

Is Torrenting Illegal?

Torrenting is the act of downloading and uploading files (usually a movie, music, or book) using a peer-to-peer network. It is not illegal unless you are downloading copyrighted content.

However, there are several risks attached to torrenting, such as downloading pirated files, files with malware, and hacking.

Why Should I Avoid Downloading Pirated Ebooks?

A lot of users of illegal ebook download sites are ignorant. Illegal ebook download sites are a major problem for authors and publishers.

An author’s income will reduce drastically because readers prefer to download from illegal ebook download sites, instead of buying from authorized bookstores.

Also, a lot of authors lose interest in writing because of piracy. They get tired of putting effort into books and not getting a significant amount of money.

The above-listed point is enough reason to stop downloading pirated ebooks. If you really love an author, you won’t mind spending a few amounts of money to buy his/her books.

However, there are several websites where you can download ebooks for free legally. Most of these websites provide books in the public domain status (i.e books with expired copyrights).

Sites to Download Free Ebooks Legally

Below are some of the sites where you can download free books in a variety of categories:

For more sites to download ebooks for free, check our article on 50 Free Ebook Download Sites without registration.

What Are the Risks Attached to Downloading From Illegal Ebook Download Sites?

Apart from reducing the income of an author or publisher, there are several risks attached to downloading pirated ebooks.

The penalties for illegal downloading depend on the country but there are usually fines. Most countries don’t treat downloading illegally as a criminal case, so you will not go to jail but you will pay a fine.

However, uploading pirated ebooks in large quantities can get you into serious trouble.

Downloading from illegal ebook download sites can expose your computer, laptop, or phone to malware. Malware, short for malicious software (i.e viruses, worms, trojans e.t.c) is a file that is designed to harm your computer or phone.

Pirated ebooks can contain malware, especially PDF books. A PDF file is an open file format, so it’s easier to attach any type of malware.

Malware can be used to monitor your phone. They can leak your personal information like credit card passwords, and gain unauthorized access to your computer or phone.

Even with antivirus software, malware can still attack your phone or laptop.

The best way to protect your laptop or phone from malware is to avoid downloading from illegal ebook download sites.

Can Ebook Piracy be Stopped?

Authors and Publishers have been battling piracy for so many years.

Putting an end to ebook piracy can be so difficult because a lot of book readers prefer to download ebooks for free instead of buying them.

This is why you must avoid downloading from illegal ebook sites. You should also preach against them, and tell your friends and family about the risks attached to ebook piracy.

If you are an author or self-publisher, follow these steps to protect your ebooks from piracy.

Ways to Protect Ebooks from Piracy

Sadly, there are no 100% ways to protect your ebooks from piracy. However, there are ways you to minimize the chances of pirating your ebooks, which are:

1. Copyright Your Book
2. Use Digital Rights Management (DRM)
3. File a DMCA Takedown Notice
4. Watermark Your Ebooks
5. Restrict Users from Editing
6. Protect Your Ebooks with Passwords
7. Add a Copyright Notice.

1. Copyright Your Book

When you write a book, you automatically own the copyright but you need to register your copyright to prove that a book belongs to you.

Register your book under the right copyright website. This will serve as evidence when you charge someone to court for copyright infringement.

2. Use Digital Rights Management (DRM)

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a way to protect copyright materials from piracy. With DRM, publishers and authors can control what buyers can do with their books.

DRM can prevent the illegal distribution of copyrighted content by encrypting the content. Anybody who purchases this content will have to request a decryption key.

3. File a DMCA Takedown Notice

If you find any website distributing your books without your permission, you can file a DMCA takedown notice.

A DMCA takedown notice is a legal document sent to websites distributing copyrighted content illegally. This document will inform the website to remove the ebook. If they fail to remove the ebook, the website can be shut down for copyright infringement.

4. Watermark Your Ebooks

Watermarking is another way to prevent your ebooks from piracy.

You can either watermark your name or the details of anyone who purchase your ebook on each page of the ebook.

It will be difficult to pirate an ebook with the details of the author on it. Anyone who downloads this ebook will automatically know the ebook was stolen.

5. Restrict Users from Editing

You can put several restrictions on your ebooks (especially PDFs) like restricting editing, copying, screen reading, printing e.t.c.

There are some software designed to restrict users from editing and printing your ebooks e.g Locklizard, FileOpen e.t.c.

6. Protect Your Ebooks with Passwords

You can protect your ebooks by locking them with a password. When someone purchases a copy of your ebook, you email them a one-time password.

However, this method can only prevent unauthorized downloads, people who buy your ebooks can still share them with their friends and family.

7. Add a Copyright Notice

A copyright notice informs the public that you own the book and that the book is protected under copyright law.

However, a copyright notice doesn’t prevent the illegal distribution of ebooks, it only informs people that they can be sued for distributing their ebooks illegally.

Copyright notice consists of The Symbol ©️ or the word “Copyright” or the abbreviation “Copr”, the first year of publication of the book, and the author’s name.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Copyright Infringement?

Copyright Infringement is the use or production or distribution of works protected by copyright without the permission of the copyright holder.

What is the difference between Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement?

Plagiarism refers to the act of taking someone else's work and producing it as your own while copyright infringement refers to the use of copyright-protected materials without the permission of the copyright holder.

Is it Illegal to download ebooks online for free?

Downloading ebooks in the public domain for free is not illegal but it is illegal to download copyright-protected ebooks without permission from the copyright holder.

Is downloading ebooks illegal a punishable offence?

Yes, it is. The copyright holder of an ebook can sue you for copyright infringement. Most times, if found guilty you will have to pay a certain amount (i.e monetary fines).

Conclusion

There are several sites to download free ebooks legally, so why download from illegal sites? These sites provide ebooks in the public domain and ebooks without copyright.

In case you don’t find the books you want on these sites, then you can buy them from online bookstores like Amazon, Barnes and Noble e.t.c.

We have now come to the end of this article on where to download free textbooks illegally. Was this article helpful? Let us know in this Comment Section.