What does the Amazon Kindle 1984 Affair teach us about copyright infringement?

We ask, What does the Amazon Kindle "1984" affair teach us about copyright infringement?

Amazon made a mistake. The company sold some copies of a book by George Orwell in violation of its copyright.

The officials at Amazon deemed this such a serious error that they went ahead and retrieved all the offending copies that they sold from their customers' Kindles.

The managers at Amazon knew the irony of a "Big Brother" deleting copies of the book "1984" would make for a juicy unflattering story in the news media.

They also knew that copyright infringement by any author, publisher or book dealer is a despicable and unforgivable offense. It is a game ending sin. Once the trust is breached, it is gone.

Amazon did the right thing even though it has resulted in many mocking articles and blog postings.

Amazon is to be commended for their decisive and honest actions after discovering their copyright infringement mistake.

Applause please.