Who owns mobi file; author or Amazon?

[Ted]

I know an author owns the copyright for a work, but does an author have the right to take a mobi file and convert it to another format for sale elsewhere?

The question was asked by another member on Linkedin but nobody on that thread could positively say who owned a mobi file, or whether or not converting it was a right granted by Amazon or KDP under their TOS or TOU.

I felt Amazon wouldn't want that to occur, but a quick look through the TOS didn't indicate you could or you couldn't. Maybe I missed something.

Anyone on goodreads know the answer?

[Omar]

I haven't seen it stated anywhere that it's not allowed. I did manage to find a site which tells you how to remove the DRM protection from an Amazon book and to convert the mobi file to other formats:

http://stream-recorder.com/forum/read...

[C.P.]

I created my own Mobi and ePub files, so I see no reason why I would not own them. Did Amazon.com create yours from a .doc file you uploaded?

You retain ownership of the work, independent of format, but it might be worth checking with an intellectual property lawyer, especially if you have to strip out DRM before making the conversion.

[[deleted user]]

I think C.P. has it right. I also created my own mobi files for uploading to KDP (DTP at the time). I have MobiCreator and MobiRead, so easy to do. I would see those files as mine. However, downloading the file created by Amazon and stripping out the DRM and then uploading it elsewhere would, in my humble opinion, be an absolute no-no. They created the file and so it belongs to them. You can't take a Random House book, stick Harper-Collins on it and resell it, even if you wrote the book and have had contracts with both.