Quote:
Originally Posted by speedlever
Pardon the newbie question, but how do you know (before downloading) that an ebook is DRM'd or not?
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Short answer: You don't.
Longer answer: if the store points you to software that requires registration to use, it's likely the books are DRM'd. If they require Adobe Digital Editions, Microsoft Reader, or Mobipocket to read, they're almost certainly selling DRM'd ebooks.
Some stores sell both DRM'd and non-DRM'd books, but point you at the same software for both. (ADE will read non-DRM'd epubs just fine.)
To avoid DRM, you either have to write to the bookstore about each individual book, or avoid buying from any store that says you need registration-required software for reading its ebooks. (Non-DRM ebook stores tend to point to Acrobat Reader, not ADE, if they sell PDFs, and often declare that their books aren't DRM'd so that you can read them on any compatible device, or shift to a format you like better.)
Less-long answer: Make a thread here at Mobileread, and someone will know if that store sells DRM'd ebooks, and if there's any specific issues with them (like B&N's filenaming problems, or how to tell Amazon's DRMd from not-DRM'd books). (At Amazon: if the device limit is "unlimited," there's no DRM.)