From Kobo via the Facebook page): The eReaders Bill of Rights

taming · 09-20-2010, 07:38 PM

I know not everyone is a Face Book member, so I thought I would copy this in from the Kobo FB Fan Page

========================

The eReaders Bill of Rights (the Kobo Perspective)
by Kobo on Friday, September 17, 2010 at 9:23am

When we started Kobo, there were a few key principles that helped us grow and win fans around the world. The first was “any book on any device.” It was a novel idea at the time to build apps across devices so that you could read on any device you wanted, especially devices you already owned. What was unique then has become an industry standard.

But one thing that continues to be a big deal for us that others have not embraced is being open. We have always believed that your books are your books, and you should be able to take them where you want. You shouldn’t be shackled to a platform or tied to a device. If another service or device or reading experience comes along, you should be able to bring your books with you. We think it’s your right as a reader. That got us thinking about what people reading digitally should generally be able to expect — an eReader’s Bill of Rights:

1. The Right to Get Your Books Out

Ask yourself this question: if the company you’re buying ebooks from got hit by a meteorite tomorrow, what would happen to your library? Can you keep local copies of your books? Can you back them up? Can you keep reading them if the company you’re buying from changes direction or format or devices? Throw them in Dropbox or a backup drive or in a secure, undisclosed location? (With Kobo you can. Just about all of our books are available as downloads to Adobe Digital Editions*. Download if you like and don’t look back!)

2. The Right to Get your Books In

Can you add your own documents, epubs, PDFs, and other bits and pieces to your library of purchased books? Your library shouldn’t be limited to the things you buy from a particular store. That’s bizarrely like having one bookshelf in your house for books you bought from airport bookstores, one bookshelf for books from indies – it is like chaining your book to one shelf, or only being allowed to read it in one room. Makes no sense and also definite decorating challenge. You should definitely be able to add in unencrypted, unDRM’d stuff. It would be even better if you could get DRM’d books from other vendors in. (We’re part way there now. Side-load PDFs, un-DRM’d ePubs into our Desktop Reader, Kobo eReader, iPad or iPhone apps. Add Overdrive library books on the Kobo eReader. More to come…)

3. The Right to Preserve Your Library

If the device you read on was eaten, burned or broken, can you get your purchased books back? Or do you have to buy them again? Do you have to explicitly sync or back them up? Your library should be readily available, no matter what. (With Kobo, not a problem. Books lost when dropped into lakes, left on subways, eaten by bears are restored as if by magic.)

4. The Right to Freedom of Movement

If a newer, better, cooler, lighter, more colourful, trans-fat free device comes along, can you get your library on it? Or if you got a device from work and now have to give it back? The only thing worse than feeling trapped is having to leave books on a device you can’t or don’t want to use anymore. (Our motto: No Book Gets Left Behind. Hop from an iPhone to a Blackberry to a Sony Reader to a Nook to a Kobo eReader to an Android tablet to an iPad to a garage-sale netbook… You get the idea.)

5. DRM if Necessary, but Not Necessarily DRM.

When DRM is mandated, do it. But if it isn’t required, don’t apply it anyway just because you can’t help yourselves. Publishers usually ask us to put DRM on books and we do. But on some occasional happy days, someone says “Keep my books open. No DRM. Let ‘er rip.” And then, we do. Download that baby and take it wherever you like**.

That’s a start. Like all sweeping statements, they should be challenged and examined and picked apart. There should probably be more. I’m interested in your thoughts, so add your Bill of Rights Amendments in the comments below.

If there’s one thing you take away from reading this, it’s that where you buy your ebooks matters a lot more than you might think. Do you know the DRM format of your eBooks? Do you know your Rights and whether your retailer believes the same things you believe? If so, awesome. If not, you could be chaining yourself (and your books) to one retailer or one device forever.

While many readers are moving their eBooks to Kobo, we’re working on making it easier. In the coming months there will be more options for more readers to move more books into their Kobo libraries and read them on more devices. And we’ll keep pushing to be the most open eReading platform out there.

* And yes, Adobe is private company and ACS/ADE is a proprietary DRM scheme. And yes, Adobe Digital Editions could be a little friendlier. But it does have the advantage of being used by a lot of companies and on a lot of devices. So it’s the best we have for now. And it also lets us do cool things with public libraries and library books on the eReader, which makes us happy.

** Why is it that statements related to DRM always need footnotes? Anyway, it’s worth saying that when we have a title that doesn’t have DRM on it, the un-DRM’d version is available from our website at www.kobobooks.com once you’ve purchased. We don’t have DRM-free downloads enabled for iPhone or Android, for example. But once you download it from the web, you can put it in any app that will support it.

sabredog · 09-20-2010, 07:49 PM

The right not to have ebooks you want to purchase denied to you because of geographic restrictions.

taming · 09-20-2010, 07:55 PM

Wouldn't it be great if Kobo could do something about that! If wishes were fishes...(or horses, I suppose)...

digital_steve · 09-20-2010, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabredog

The right not to have ebooks you want to purchase denied to you because of geographic restrictions.

Us convicts aren't allowed to be as well read as the northern hemisphere... didn't you know?

sabredog · 09-20-2010, 08:22 PM

I am married to an English lady, doesn't that elevate me to the peerage?

taming · 09-20-2010, 09:20 PM

And I have dual citizenship (US and Canada) so can't I buy anything approved for either place?

sabredog · 09-20-2010, 09:41 PM

You need to have the correct IP, credit card billing and home address for allowed countries for such circumvention of GR.

taming · 09-20-2010, 10:13 PM

LOL--and it is against the TOS to fake any of the address things, too. One can dream...

digital_steve · 09-20-2010, 10:35 PM

I definately know of no one that used a proxy, the aussie embassy address and then used another account to send a gift voucher to that account to get a book that was GR.

Disgusting behaviour.

sabredog · 09-20-2010, 11:36 PM

Geographic restrictions are a far more insidious issue than DRM has ever been or ever will be.

shall1028 · 09-21-2010, 02:13 AM

The tenor of the responses to the original posting seems to be to heap scorn on Kobo for geographic restrictions when it really should be piled upon publishers' seeming lack of will to erase such restrictions in their publishing agreements.

The following line from the Kobo "eReader's Bill of Rights" is instructive:

"But one thing that continues to be a big deal for us that others have not embraced is being open." (emphasis mine)

Rather than being insidious Geographic Restrictions should more likely be seen as invidious.

sabredog · 09-21-2010, 02:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shall1028

The tenor of the responses to the original posting seems to be to heap scorn on Kobo for geographic restrictions when it really should be piled upon publishers' seeming lack of will to erase such restrictions in their publishing agreements.

The following line from the Kobo "eReader's Bill of Rights" is instructive:

"But one thing that continues to be a big deal for us that others have not embraced is being open." (emphasis mine)

Rather than being insidious Geographic Restrictions should more likely be seen as invidious.

"The right not to have ebooks you want to purchase denied to you because of geographic restrictions."

Is not putting scorn on Kobo, rather adding to the bill of rights.

zoran · 09-21-2010, 02:51 AM

The word "silo" is the most usable in this case. I took a look at some
sites I was sure might give an answer. Like this link:
www.eff.org/wp/digital-books-and-your-rights
I doubt all would be happy, whatever the conclusion is.

taming · 09-21-2010, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shall1028

The tenor of the responses to the original posting seems to be to heap scorn on Kobo for geographic restrictions when it really should be piled upon publishers' seeming lack of will to erase such restrictions in their publishing agreements.

I don't know about the other posters, but I was just being silly. If I hadn't thought the Kobo post was terrific, I would not have copied it onto the board to begin with.

SensualPoet · 09-21-2010, 06:25 PM

Thanks for clarifying, taming. It's a thing to be pleased about -- an ebook store with some principles they are willing to articulate and discuss openly. It's another way in which Kobo is trying to set itself apart from the other players. Note that kobobooks DOES raise issues that it has little control over -- and has done so even knowing they'd be a lightning rod for these things.

At the very least, I admire the "thought leadership" going on at Kobo. The comments at the Kobo blog are also worth reading.

09-20-2010, 07:38 PM	#1
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	From Kobo via the Facebook page): The eReaders Bill of Rights I know not everyone is a Face Book member, so I thought I would copy this in from the Kobo FB Fan Page ======================== The eReaders Bill of Rights (the Kobo Perspective) by Kobo on Friday, September 17, 2010 at 9:23am When we started Kobo, there were a few key principles that helped us grow and win fans around the world. The first was “any book on any device.” It was a novel idea at the time to build apps across devices so that you could read on any device you wanted, especially devices you already owned. What was unique then has become an industry standard. But one thing that continues to be a big deal for us that others have not embraced is being open. We have always believed that your books are your books, and you should be able to take them where you want. You shouldn’t be shackled to a platform or tied to a device. If another service or device or reading experience comes along, you should be able to bring your books with you. We think it’s your right as a reader. That got us thinking about what people reading digitally should generally be able to expect — an eReader’s Bill of Rights: 1. The Right to Get Your Books Out Ask yourself this question: if the company you’re buying ebooks from got hit by a meteorite tomorrow, what would happen to your library? Can you keep local copies of your books? Can you back them up? Can you keep reading them if the company you’re buying from changes direction or format or devices? Throw them in Dropbox or a backup drive or in a secure, undisclosed location? (With Kobo you can. Just about all of our books are available as downloads to Adobe Digital Editions. Download if you like and don’t look back!) 2. The Right to Get your Books In Can you add your own documents, epubs, PDFs, and other bits and pieces to your library of purchased books? Your library shouldn’t be limited to the things you buy from a particular store. That’s bizarrely like having one bookshelf in your house for books you bought from airport bookstores, one bookshelf for books from indies – it is like chaining your book to one shelf, or only being allowed to read it in one room. Makes no sense and also definite decorating challenge. You should definitely be able to add in unencrypted, unDRM’d stuff. It would be even better if you could get DRM’d books from other vendors in. (We’re part way there now. Side-load PDFs, un-DRM’d ePubs into our Desktop Reader, Kobo eReader, iPad or iPhone apps. Add Overdrive library books on the Kobo eReader. More to come…) 3. The Right to Preserve Your Library If the device you read on was eaten, burned or broken, can you get your purchased books back? Or do you have to buy them again? Do you have to explicitly sync or back them up? Your library should be readily available, no matter what. (With Kobo, not a problem. Books lost when dropped into lakes, left on subways, eaten by bears are restored as if by magic.) 4. The Right to Freedom of Movement If a newer, better, cooler, lighter, more colourful, trans-fat free device comes along, can you get your library on it? Or if you got a device from work and now have to give it back? The only thing worse than feeling trapped is having to leave books on a device you can’t or don’t want to use anymore. (Our motto: No Book Gets Left Behind. Hop from an iPhone to a Blackberry to a Sony Reader to a Nook to a Kobo eReader to an Android tablet to an iPad to a garage-sale netbook… You get the idea.) 5. DRM if Necessary, but Not Necessarily DRM. When DRM is mandated, do it. But if it isn’t required, don’t apply it anyway just because you can’t help yourselves. Publishers usually ask us to put DRM on books and we do. But on some occasional happy days, someone says “Keep my books open. No DRM. Let ‘er rip.” And then, we do. Download that baby and take it wherever you like. That’s a start. Like all sweeping statements, they should be challenged and examined and picked apart. There should probably be more. I’m interested in your thoughts, so add your Bill of Rights Amendments in the comments below. If there’s one thing you take away from reading this, it’s that where you buy your ebooks matters a lot more than you might think. Do you know the DRM format of your eBooks? Do you know your Rights and whether your retailer believes the same things you believe? If so, awesome. If not, you could be chaining yourself (and your books) to one retailer or one device forever. While many readers are moving their eBooks to Kobo, we’re working on making it easier. In the coming months there will be more options for more readers to move more books into their Kobo libraries and read them on more devices. And we’ll keep pushing to be the most open eReading platform out there. And yes, Adobe is private company and ACS/ADE is a proprietary DRM scheme. And yes, Adobe Digital Editions could be a little friendlier. But it does have the advantage of being used by a lot of companies and on a lot of devices. So it’s the best we have for now. And it also lets us do cool things with public libraries and library books on the eReader, which makes us happy. ** Why is it that statements related to DRM always need footnotes? Anyway, it’s worth saying that when we have a title that doesn’t have DRM on it, the un-DRM’d version is available from our website at www.kobobooks.com once you’ve purchased. We don’t have DRM-free downloads enabled for iPhone or Android, for example. But once you download it from the web, you can put it in any app that will support it.

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09-20-2010, 07:49 PM	#2
sabredog Geographically Restricted Posts: 2,629 Karma: 14933353 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2	The right not to have ebooks you want to purchase denied to you because of geographic restrictions.

09-20-2010, 07:55 PM	#3
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	Wouldn't it be great if Kobo could do something about that! If wishes were fishes...(or horses, I suppose)...

09-20-2010, 08:22 PM	#5
sabredog Geographically Restricted Posts: 2,629 Karma: 14933353 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2	I am married to an English lady, doesn't that elevate me to the peerage?

09-20-2010, 09:20 PM	#6
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	And I have dual citizenship (US and Canada) so can't I buy anything approved for either place?

09-20-2010, 09:41 PM	#7
sabredog Geographically Restricted Posts: 2,629 Karma: 14933353 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2	You need to have the correct IP, credit card billing and home address for allowed countries for such circumvention of GR.

09-20-2010, 10:13 PM	#8
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	LOL--and it is against the TOS to fake any of the address things, too. One can dream...

09-20-2010, 10:35 PM	#9
digital_steve Muppet Posts: 240 Karma: 442 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Tasmania Device: Kobo Aura HD, Sony PRS-650	I definately know of no one that used a proxy, the aussie embassy address and then used another account to send a gift voucher to that account to get a book that was GR. Disgusting behaviour.

09-20-2010, 11:36 PM	#10
sabredog Geographically Restricted Posts: 2,629 Karma: 14933353 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2	Geographic restrictions are a far more insidious issue than DRM has ever been or ever will be.

09-21-2010, 02:13 AM	#11
shall1028 Nameless Being	The tenor of the responses to the original posting seems to be to heap scorn on Kobo for geographic restrictions when it really should be piled upon publishers' seeming lack of will to erase such restrictions in their publishing agreements. The following line from the Kobo "eReader's Bill of Rights" is instructive: "But one thing that continues to be a big deal for us that others have not embraced is being open." (emphasis mine) Rather than being insidious Geographic Restrictions should more likely be seen as invidious.

09-21-2010, 02:51 AM	#13
zoran himself Posts: 576 Karma: 11226 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kobo	The word "silo" is the most usable in this case. I took a look at some sites I was sure might give an answer. Like this link: www.eff.org/wp/digital-books-and-your-rights I doubt all would be happy, whatever the conclusion is.

Advert

Advert

09-21-2010, 06:25 PM	#15
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	Thanks for clarifying, taming. It's a thing to be pleased about -- an ebook store with some principles they are willing to articulate and discuss openly. It's another way in which Kobo is trying to set itself apart from the other players. Note that kobobooks DOES raise issues that it has little control over -- and has done so even knowing they'd be a lightning rod for these things. At the very least, I admire the "thought leadership" going on at Kobo. The comments at the Kobo blog are also worth reading.