I agree that it may be hard, but certainly not impossible to ensure that only one copy of a book is used.
How about, and this is just off the top of my head, a card or chip is posted to the buyers address with a copy of the book, or a release key as well as the download? Not hard to implement, and not expensive. Certainly cheaper than printing and delivery a paper book. This key/card/code could then be sold in in the future (or indeed passed on to charity, friends, co-workers). In the event of this being a release key it could also be time bombed for only x amount of downloads (a little like Harper Collins are offering as a solution to library lending)
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