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Originally Posted by nowthenmobile
So, if you reckon that I cannot convert Kindle to Nook, then if Amazon were to stop providing support for Kindle and stop selling Kindle, I could end up losing my entire ebook collection?
Are modern EPUB books all DRM protected? What does the DRM do? Does it tie an EPUB to a particular brand of eReader? If I bought it for a Nook, could I then transfer it to a Sony?
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This is the current position that publishers and suppliers are taking. Books are licensed to just you, with no provision for 'format shifting' to other devices.
DRM is a way of encrypting the contents of the ebooks so that they can only be read on authorised devices. Some DRM requires you to re-download the books when you want to read them on a new device (Kindle, ADE ePub). Some requires you to enter some personal information before you can read the book (B&N ePub).
In the USA (and some other countries), removing ('circumventing') DRM is (or may be — opinions differ) illegal. Certainly, distributing the means to remove DRM is illegal., which is why you won't find downloads for DRM removal or explicit instructions on Mobileread.
I If Amazon were to stop selling Kindle devices, or if Adobe stopped supporting ADE DRM (as they have done for some of their previous DRM schemes) you could be left with a lot of ebooks that you can no longer read.
The solution, which I consider ethical even if there are arguments about its legality, is to remove the DRM from your ebooks as soon as you can, and store the de-DRMed version away in a well-backed-up archive.
I believe that currently Sony ePub can be read on Nooks but not vice-versa. This might change in the future. Apple iBooks ePubs can only be read using Apple's iBooks app.
DRM removal tools are available for ADE ePubs, B&N ePub, Kindle Mobipocket and Kindle Topaz. There are currently no DRM removal tools for Apple's ePubs.