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Originally Posted by traponk
For what it's worth, Amazon and BN both allow publishers the option to sell non-DRM ebooks in their markets, so we also have to convince publishers that it's in their interest to publish DRM-free ebooks.
Nooks read epub, an open format that iBooks, Sony Readers, Kobe and most other ereaders use. If you can find an epub ebook, you can read it on the Nook. The DRM that Nooks use, when it is used, is from a DRM from Adobe that's pretty widely used, so it's by no means exclusive to Nooks.
Not so the Kindle. Amazon created their own format that only Kindles read, and purposely stayed out of the epub development that BN, Google & Apple are part of.
To find out lots more about DRM and related issues for ebooks, I recommend Cory Doctorow's book "Content." You can download it as a free epub ebook, or read it in html here. |
I didnt read the mentioned book (it is on my to-read list), but it seems to me that almost all of the statements above are inaccurate: B&N created their own DRM format which is an encryption based on user's name and credit card number - completely proprietary. Adobe Digital Editions has their own DRM format - Adept, which nook can also read in conjunction with ADE.
Kindle did not create their own format as far as i know. AZW format is a mobi format with DRM. Mobi was created by a French company which was purchased by Amazon (i think it was in light of news that Adobe will stop developing ADE if I remember correctly). Amazon also uses topaz format .tpz which is scans with text, i think, but that is in minority of books and I dont know much about it.
B&N, apple and google are part of epub development? That's the first time I'm hearing this kind of stuff. Generally epub standard is created and maintained by IDPF, lot of companies are part of it, but B&N apple nor google are not managing it
link .
De-DRMing is against the DMCA in US, so alternative to convincing publishers is to convince lawmakers to make de-DRMing legal. There's similar acts in other countries now.
Whether to put DRM on the books or not is up to publishers not booksellers.