You have to pay AMA one way or another whether its a coding vendor passing on the royalties on to AMA, or wherever you purchase data files from. They do hold a copyright so unless you can find someone who has lower ethics to pass the data on, maybe borrowing a book may be the next best thing. Honestly, i don't know how coders get by without buying the CPT book or electronic version. Its like a plumber trying to do his job without a wrench. Its one of the things that shocked me while trying to get into this industry how so many can survive this job without the proper tools.