Silently installed device scanning software is spyware whether it sends data or not.
The only reason it wouldn't report is to avoid legal liability. Protections like this are thin and hinge upon the legal system determining whether the applet's knowledge is an extension of Google's.
The only books I've paid for are the ones where the author explicitly allows copy and free distribution.
Well, those and the ones that get bundled with online access way back in uni.