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Thinking about an absurd example to illustrate my point:

Imagine you find a printed copy of "Moby Dick". On the first page, you see the statement: "By reading this work, you are entering into a legally binding contract, obligating you to not spoil the ending to anybody under penalty of $100, payable as a charitable donation to NYPL."

Can whoever printed the (out of copyright) book sue you if you spoil the ending and don't make the donation? Would things change if you were to sign the first page with your name?

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_aavaa_ 3 days ago | parent [-]

A physical book, no. A digital book, cynically I think yes since you don’t own a copy you own a license to use it.

	▲	alain94040 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		[I'm not a lawyer but spent way too much time with intellectual property lawyers] Not true either for a digital book. However, since you are in possession of a digital copy of something that is definitely copyrightable, you have two options to defend yourself and not go to jail: either use the license terms that give you the digital rights to the book (and pay the $100), or not have a license, not have a defense, and let the judge decide what the penalty should be. Will it be more than $100?