Ebook stores and their DRM

[neilmarr]

Some publishers who, like us, resist DRM might consider carrying a note similar to the one permanently displayed in the bookstore section of our own site:

A PROMISE TO OUR EBOOK BUYERS

Should you buy a BeWrite Books ebook from a third party-retailer rather than from our own site, you might find (through no fault or desire on our part) that it is locked by store-imposed Digital Rights Management (DRM) software. We feel this restricts your legitimate owner's rights. So if you ever encounter this problem, simply let us know and we will freely send you the DRM-free version of that title in the format of your choice (evidence of original purchase would help us identify the errant stores, but isn't strictly necessary for this offer to be fulfilled). BeWrite Books and its authors want you to be able to share our ebooks with friends and family as you might share our paperbacks. We want you to be able to easily convert ebooks to any format you like, to read them on whichever device you like, wherever you like, whenever you like. We trust you not to make a business of it, but to fairly use a BB ebook as you would a BB treebook. BB reckons you own the ebook you bought – you've not merely licensed it with strings attached. DRM is not only an inconvenience to you but a downright insult. We'll put it right. That's a promise. And those who know us will attest to the fact that BB never breaks its promises.

Tony Szmuk (Publisher) & Neil Marr (Editor in Chief)

[Jasonofindy]

@Poppaea & Purple Lady- thanks for additional confirmation regarding the Sony store & software

@Hatgirl- Thanks for the info about multiple additional stores. I think I have them all added and described correctly, but wouldn't mind you checking out my edited OP, especially the Fictionwise information. (I've tried to make it as clear as possible given my unfamiliarity with the store)

@ATDrake- Thank you for the additional info re: B & N, Kobo, and Fictionwise. I think I have all of the Fictionwise/.pdb info straight in my Fictionwise and B & N posts now.

@neilmarr- Thanks for the information about finding additional DRM-free sources

@starrigger- Thanks for letting me know that some Amazon and B & N offerings are DRM free.

OK, I think I have everything updated and corrected up to this point. As more info rolls in I will work it into the OP. In a week or two when it looks like additions/corrections may be done trickling in I will likely try to rewrite and reorganize the OP to make it easier to read and to locate individual stores in the post. Thanks again to everyone for their help and input.

[ATDrake]

One very minor clarification regarding the B&N Mac .pdb situation: it's not that we have the option to buy books in .pdb format, because we don't specifically.

We're just able to download our purchases in either the older original .pdb or newer standard ePub format, depending on whether we do it directly from our My NOOK Library account page at the website, or via the NookStudy app. This is due to B&N never bothering to update the official Mac version of its desktop reader app to properly support DRM-ed ePubs, so eventually they just switched us all back to the .pdb downloads to stem the complaints about the app crashing with DRM ePubs.

Incidentally, I think that some apps-but-not-dedicated-devices have been showing up using the new version of ADE that also supports B&N-style ePub DRM. I've seen people mention something called "Blufire" for either iPad or Android tablets, and maybe someone who's got one can confirm/deny.

Also, the way to tell if an Amazon book is DRM-free is to look for "Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited" in the Product Details on the book's description page. If it has a number listed or omits that field entirely, then it's DRM.

There's currently no similar indicator for DRM-ness or not at B&N, but some publishers seem to consistently have no DRM on their B&N books (for people who like erotic romance, Samhain's promotional free book offerings have been consistently DRM-free, and I'd guess that the regular paid portion of their B&N catalogue from which the freebies are drawn are, too).

Hope this helps.

[Jasonofindy]

@ATDrake Thanks for the additional clarifications and info. They have been incorporated. I initially waffled on including the information regarding the Bluefire App, but a visit to their website FAQ turned up a link back to a thread on this site where users were able to read Barnes and Noble content with the app by first importing it into ADE on their PC (which can't open it) and then transferring it to the app on the device which then prompts for your name and CC# to properly view the book. I don't own any iPads, iPhones, etc. so I can't test it out.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...4&postcount=83

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Also, the way to tell if an Amazon book is DRM-free is to look for "Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited" in the Product Details on the book's description page. If it has a number listed or omits that field entirely, then it's DRM.

There's currently no similar indicator for DRM-ness or not at B&N

Annoying but true about BN. I finally went in and added "DRM-free" to the book descriptions for my own books in the Pubit editions. (At least, I started to. I'm not sure if I ever finished the job, now that I think about it. But all my books listed as from "Starstream Publications" are DRM-free where permitted.)

[ATDrake]

I think that every author/publisher who's committed to offering DRM-free books via 3rd-party outlets should state that explicitly in their product descriptions (after purchasing and downloading a copy to make sure it really is DRM-free from that site), because not everyone will know enough to know even about Amazon's code-phrase for "this book has no DRM but we're not going to admit it openly".

@ Jasonofindy

The list is looking good. If I may make a suggestion, maybe it would be more convenient in the final version to list the formats and their DRMs first and supporting devices, and then have a list of which stores support what format/DRM with the major stores placed first. That way, there might be less duplication of stuff that was already said about another store which supports the exact same formats as a previous one.

Also, I should note that while Amazon bought and owns the Mobipocket format, there are at least two different kinds of Mobipocket DRM that people are likely to run into.

One is the Amazon Kindle Mobipocket DRM which only works on Kindle and apps. The other is the older-style Secure Mobipocket DRM which is used by Overdrive library books and occasionally still sold through 3rd party vendors. The latter cannot be read on a Kindle without the use of scripts to tweak the file, because Amazon has not incorporated built-in support for the older DRM scheme.

They've also a second DRM format called Topaz, which everyone dreads because it's buggy and unstable. But it only works on Kindles so it's a moot point unless people are looking for non-Topaz versions of the books, in which case a book which is Topaz at Amazon can often be found in ePub at another outlet.

You can tell whether or not a book is Topaz by again looking at the Product Details. If it has a "Print Length" only with no "File Size" listed, then it's Topaz.

And Kobo is starting to offer ADE-DRM PDFs (mostly for academic titles). They had a banner about it on their website last month.

[pholy]

While I know that geo-restrictions are usually applied on a per-book basis, there are some stores in your list that only sell into certain countries: B&N, in particular, requires a USA credit card billing address. It would be helpful if these offenders were pointed out in your list. Great effort, it's good to collect these things in one place.

[Dulin's Books]

Google Books- Some Titles are not available for download and some are. Ones that are you can use ADE as described earlier. Ones that arent must be read using Google Apps for mobile devices or you can use your desktop/laptop's (or any javascript supporting) browser

Whether a title is or is not available for download is up to the publisher and in some cases it appears they are testing to see which sells better i.e. some books in a series download-able and others not.

Books On Board sells in a variety of formats

Epub and PDF with ADE DRM as well as MobiPocket, eReader adn Microsoft Reader(.lit)

[starrigger]

Just so you know, Google Books is a train wreck, and you should not assume that anything there is the way it is because the publisher wants it to be. They simply do not appear to know what they're doing.

[Janette55]

Just in case you want to add this on, Books On Board has a variety of formats and they all seem to now be DRM'd.

Jasmine (which is Ellora's Cave) is DRM free.

I don't know of any other, I am trying to find out which ebook stores are now DRM free, and it doesn't seem to be that many are now.

[Catlady]

FYI, ChristianBook.com's e-book store allows you to limit your search to DRM-free titles.

[Piper_]

Originally Posted by Jasonofindy

Amazon.com- The books from their store are essentially mobi format with a proprietary DRM. Books purchased from them will only work on the Kindle and the various devices that now have software "Kindle Apps."

EDIT: starrigger notes that "[A]uthors direct-publishing to Amazon and B&N have the option to make their books DRM-free, and many do." ATDrake adds, "[T]he way to tell if an Amazon book is DRM-free is to look for "Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited" in the Product Details on the book's description page. If it has a number listed or omits that field entirely, then it's DRM."

As of April 2009, the DRM-Free option is also given to other publishers as well - no longer just to authors publishing through Amazon.

e.g., Baen and O'Reilly sell DRM-Free books on Amazon.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by Janette55

Just in case you want to add this on, Books On Board has a variety of formats and they all seem to now be DRM'd.

Jasmine (which is Ellora's Cave) is DRM free.

I don't know of any other, I am trying to find out which ebook stores are now DRM free, and it doesn't seem to be that many are now.

Smashwords
also http://drmfree.calibre-ebook.com/

[crich70]

I wrote Mobipocket.com with a query about this issue myself just this morning. I know they are owned by Amazon so I can't figure out why they don't allow their books to work on Kindle.

Amazon bought Mobipocket in 2005 (so I understand) and so they have the ability to do so. It would certainly be a gesture of good will if such was done. After all why should a person have to buy the same book twice just to be able to read it on 2 different ereading devices that use the same program(Mobipocket) and are owned by the same parent company? That's like going to a two hr movie, watching the 1st hr and then having the lights come up and then being told that to see the 2nd half of the picture you have to buy another ticket. It's just not right. DRM is put into place to prevent theft from the ebook seller, that I can understand. But why should the customer have money taken out of their pocket by the same company twice so that they can read a book that they've already bought on their new device (Kindle) that is owned by the same company that produced the book in the 1st place? Point in case. I bought "The Fiction Writer's Toolkit" from Mobipocket some yrs ago. Now Amazon has "THE NOVEL WRITER'S TOOLKIT: A Guide To Writing Great Fiction and Getting It Published" by the same author, but of course I can't read my Mobipocket copy on the Kindle due to the DRM and by the same token I haven't bought the "Kindle version" so I can't read the book on my Kindle. Of course since I have already paid for it once I don't see why I should have to do so again either. Could someone explain to me how it is theft if someone breaks DRM on a mobipocket ebook so they can read it on the Kindle, but it isn't theft to have it locked so it can't be read on Kindle so that you have to buy the same book again from the same company just in order to read what you have already purchased? I just can't figure that out.

It will be interesting to see what (if any) response I get to my question. I really can't see why I should have to pay the same company twice for the same book just so I can read it on my Kindle.

[mikaelalind]

Originally Posted by Janette55

Just in case you want to add this on, Books On Board has a variety of formats and they all seem to now be DRM'd.

Jasmine (which is Ellora's Cave) is DRM free.

I don't know of any other, I am trying to find out which ebook stores are now DRM free, and it doesn't seem to be that many are now.

If you like romance, ARe mostly sells DRM free e-books. ( If it is DRM, it clearly say so) Many of the e-book publishers also have their own stores, that tend to be DRM free.