wow, sidestepping like that sucks.

Strangely, some kindle books actually do meet california criteria of "buy" by allowing a download of the book in .pdf or .epub format.

But when you go to buy them, it still seems to say:

  By placing an order, you're purchasing a content license & agreeing to Kindle's Store Terms of Use.

There is no other indication in the item description of this difference.

It is only later in your library that it quietly says:

  Download available in additional formats