I want to see what the hubbub is a bout, but for personal reasons I don't want money in hbo's pocket.
The only situation I'm not sure about is when the books have the new HBO inspired covers. I think it's possible that if the HBO show were depicted on the cover, that HBO might be making some money off those books?
I have a boxed set of the first five books (A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, and A Dance with Dragons) in paperback, acquired in 2014 (Bantam Books).
The box and each cover has a banner declaring "A NEW ORIGINAL SERIES FROM HBO". The covers do not depict characters (actors) or recognizable images from the series, but the box itself does. You can bet HBO realized some compensation from the sale of this set.