Region and removing DRM

Rumpelteazer · 10-17-2009, 03:52 AM

In a couple of weeks I'll be ordering a Sony PRS-600. I live in the Netherlands but I mostly read English books. The webstore Sony is working with, Bol.com, has a reasonable selection (111000+) of English books. But I saw that Waterstones.co.uk has a lot more ebooks I like and at times is cheaper than Bol, but they have the UK region restriction.

Because Bol has a limit on how many times you can move your ePUB files to and from your reader I was planning on stripping the DRM to circumvent this. My question is if I can also use it also to get rid of the region restrictions on the Waterstones ebooks.

Thanks for the help!

HarryT · 10-17-2009, 04:13 AM

Regional restrictions apply at the "bookstore" level and prevent you from buying a book if you live in certain countries. They are entirely unconnected with DRM.

Rumpelteazer · 10-17-2009, 05:47 AM

Ah, the helpdesk at Waterstones answered differently. It wouldn't surprise me though because it took 4 emails before they understood I was asking what their region of operation is. As soon as I got my reader I'll try to buy an ebook with them and see how it goes.

Stupid thing is that Waterstones also has a .nl website (same as the .co.uk one) and you can click on the ebook section without getting a warning that you can't buy their ebooks.

weedfreak · 10-18-2009, 04:59 AM

The whole of this region thing is stupid. Quite a lot of places, like the BBC get their idea of your location from your IP address, as I get my internet connection through the Astra satellite the immediate conclusion is that I live in Luxemburg and I get blocked from d/l at the BBC site, the same would probably happen with Waterstone uk site and the answer is to pay for an IP spoof address service, it then appears to their software that you live in the uk as you have a uk IP address. Though they could go by you credit card address.

Rumpelteazer · 10-19-2009, 05:43 AM

After a little experiment I don't think they go by IP address. I ran through the ordering process up to the paying section and everything went okay. If they actually use regional restrictions (it isn't mentioned in their ebook faqs, unlike websites that do have restrictions) it's probably connected to either the physical address or the credit card address.

As I said, I'll test it when I have my reader. If I get blocked I'm going to be very annoying to them because I will be using their .nl website to order it, it's only logical that since they use a Dutch url you can buy anything they offer in that store.

I agree that the regional thing is stupid, even more so within Europe.

10-17-2009, 03:52 AM	#1
Rumpelteazer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,099 Karma: 24047426 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Utrecht, the Netherlands Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition	Region and removing DRM In a couple of weeks I'll be ordering a Sony PRS-600. I live in the Netherlands but I mostly read English books. The webstore Sony is working with, Bol.com, has a reasonable selection (111000+) of English books. But I saw that Waterstones.co.uk has a lot more ebooks I like and at times is cheaper than Bol, but they have the UK region restriction. Because Bol has a limit on how many times you can move your ePUB files to and from your reader I was planning on stripping the DRM to circumvent this. My question is if I can also use it also to get rid of the region restrictions on the Waterstones ebooks. Thanks for the help!

10-17-2009, 05:47 AM	#3
Rumpelteazer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,099 Karma: 24047426 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Utrecht, the Netherlands Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition	Ah, the helpdesk at Waterstones answered differently. It wouldn't surprise me though because it took 4 emails before they understood I was asking what their region of operation is. As soon as I got my reader I'll try to buy an ebook with them and see how it goes. Stupid thing is that Waterstones also has a .nl website (same as the .co.uk one) and you can click on the ebook section without getting a warning that you can't buy their ebooks. Last edited by Rumpelteazer; 10-17-2009 at 05:51 AM. Reason: add about Dutch url

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10-17-2009, 04:13 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Regional restrictions apply at the "bookstore" level and prevent you from buying a book if you live in certain countries. They are entirely unconnected with DRM.

10-18-2009, 04:59 AM	#4
weedfreak Addict Posts: 302 Karma: 185297 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Ankh Morpork Device: calibre	The whole of this region thing is stupid. Quite a lot of places, like the BBC get their idea of your location from your IP address, as I get my internet connection through the Astra satellite the immediate conclusion is that I live in Luxemburg and I get blocked from d/l at the BBC site, the same would probably happen with Waterstone uk site and the answer is to pay for an IP spoof address service, it then appears to their software that you live in the uk as you have a uk IP address. Though they could go by you credit card address.

10-19-2009, 05:43 AM	#5
Rumpelteazer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,099 Karma: 24047426 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Utrecht, the Netherlands Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition	After a little experiment I don't think they go by IP address. I ran through the ordering process up to the paying section and everything went okay. If they actually use regional restrictions (it isn't mentioned in their ebook faqs, unlike websites that do have restrictions) it's probably connected to either the physical address or the credit card address. As I said, I'll test it when I have my reader. If I get blocked I'm going to be very annoying to them because I will be using their .nl website to order it, it's only logical that since they use a Dutch url you can buy anything they offer in that store. I agree that the regional thing is stupid, even more so within Europe.

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