Not Cross-Posting to Better World Books

I’ve been cross-posting my book reviews to online bookstores I’ve bought from, and I recently picked up some used books from Better World Books (which I’ve heard good things about). They do show reader reviews, but I couldn’t see an option to actually submit a review.

Just as well, because when I went looking, I found that, unlike most sites that accept user-submitted content, they actually do claim copyright over it, not just the usual “perpetual non-exclusive royalty-free license” that every site uses and occasionally someone notices and misinterprets as claiming ownership.

All communications, comments, feedback, bug reports, suggestions, ideas, content, and other submissions submitted to Better World Books through the Sites (collectively, “Submissions”) shall be and remain Better World Books’ property with all worldwide rights, titles and interests in all copyrights and other intellectual property in such Submissions hereby being assigned to Better World Books by you.

– Better World Books: Terms of Use

OUCH!

So…not going to cross-post there. (FWIW, Amazon, B&N, Kobo and Books A Million all agree that you retain your copyrights, and they only claim the usual non-exclusive license that their lawyers require in order to actually show your post.)