Does Kobo shop add DRM to DRM-free editions?

kAlvaro · 04-25-2017, 02:48 PM

I'm a great fan of "B de Books", a Spanish publisher that does not use DRM, and I used to buy their books at "Fnac.es". Now Fnac's ebook department redirects to Kobo shop. I decided to go on and buy at Kobo (after all I even own a Kobo e-reader). I saw a note about DRM but I didn't pay much attention to it. But in the end it was true: my purchase is encrypted.

So... What could possibly happen here? Does Kobo add its own DRM to DRM-free editions? Do I always need to check other shops first so I don't get less for my money?

AnemicOak · 04-25-2017, 03:01 PM

To the best of my knowledge Kobo never adds DRM unless the publisher chooses it and some publishers do sell DRM-free there. It's possible the publisher set up something wrong when sending their books to Kobo or that they go through a distributor/aggregator that added the DRM not knowing that the publisher prefers to sell DRM-free.

rashkae · 04-25-2017, 10:24 PM

I think Kepub is always encrypted, even if the book is otherwise DRM Free, (Kepub is the book that synchronizes with your device.). If you want a drm Free epub, you have to open the "My Books" page on the Kobo website and download the epub from there.

DNSB · 04-25-2017, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rashkae

I think Kepub is always encrypted, even if the book is otherwise DRM Free, (Kepub is the book that synchronizes with your device.). If you want a drm Free epub, you have to open the "My Books" page on the Kobo website and download the epub from there.

Not quite right. I have purchased quite a few kepubs that were not encrypted. I get the impression that Kobo encrypts unless specifically requested not to encrypt.

kAlvaro · 04-26-2017, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

To the best of my knowledge Kobo never adds DRM unless the publisher chooses it and some publishers do sell DRM-free there. It's possible the publisher set up something wrong when sending their books to Kobo or that they go through a distributor/aggregator that added the DRM not knowing that the publisher prefers to sell DRM-free.

Thank you for the feedback. An overzealous middleman definitively stands as a possible reason. In any case, I've learnt the lesson and I'll always compare before buying

Quote:

Originally Posted by rashkae

If you want a drm Free epub, you have to open the "My Books" page on the Kobo website and download the epub from there.

The web site offers "DRM-FREE EPUB" for one of my books (from some other publisher), but "Adobe DRM EPUB" for all B de Books ones.

kAlvaro · 04-26-2017, 02:39 PM

Funny... I just had the idea of googling for the ISBN of the DRM-FREE EPUB from some other publisher that I purchased in Kobo and I've found it for sale in the site of a famous Spanish department store... with DRM! I suspect this is not an uncommon practice...

kAlvaro · 04-26-2017, 02:55 PM

Gasp... I've asked Kobo support twice about this and I've got an unrelated canned response twice... :_(

AnemicOak · 04-26-2017, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kAlvaro

Gasp... I've asked Kobo support twice about this and I've got an unrelated canned response twice... :_(

Unfortunate.

The only response I'd guess they're likely to be able to give is that DRM is a choice made by the publisher (or whoever they're using to upload if not doing it themselves) and not something Kobo requires.

Have you tried asking the publisher?

milady133 · 04-27-2017, 09:12 AM

Hi Álvaro, normally Kobo will sell the book without DRM if the publisher tell them so when uploading the ebook to their servers, but from what I've read on other threads, it's not the default and making a mistake is easy. You probably can find the book in www.lektu.com as they only sell DRM free ebooks and B de Books is one of the publishers selling there.

JSWolf · 04-30-2017, 12:57 PM

Kepub is just the ePub with Kobocode added to it. It's still a ZIP file. If the ePub has no DRm, the kepub has no DRM.

kAlvaro · 05-09-2017, 02:31 PM

I eventually got an answer from Kobo Support (I only had to ask three times). A summarised rough translation from Spanish:

Quote:

Kobo is only a window for publishers and authors and does not decide on copy protection. We suggest you ask B de Books.

I submitted the contact form in publisher's site like two weeks ago and never got any reply. That isn't a surprise, though, since most companies in Spain never answer contact forms.
I'll try again in their Facebook account.

JSWolf · 05-17-2017, 04:20 AM

Kobo does not add DRM if the eBook is supposed to be sold without DRM. For example, Tor eBooks.

04-25-2017, 02:48 PM	#1
kAlvaro Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Burgos, Spain Device: Kobo Aura H2O	Does Kobo shop add DRM to DRM-free editions? I'm a great fan of "B de Books", a Spanish publisher that does not use DRM, and I used to buy their books at "Fnac.es". Now Fnac's ebook department redirects to Kobo shop. I decided to go on and buy at Kobo (after all I even own a Kobo e-reader). I saw a note about DRM but I didn't pay much attention to it. But in the end it was true: my purchase is encrypted. So... What could possibly happen here? Does Kobo add its own DRM to DRM-free editions? Do I always need to check other shops first so I don't get less for my money?

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04-25-2017, 03:01 PM	#2
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	To the best of my knowledge Kobo never adds DRM unless the publisher chooses it and some publishers do sell DRM-free there. It's possible the publisher set up something wrong when sending their books to Kobo or that they go through a distributor/aggregator that added the DRM not knowing that the publisher prefers to sell DRM-free.

04-25-2017, 10:24 PM	#3
rashkae Wizard Posts: 1,267 Karma: 5935030 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Aura HD	I think Kepub is always encrypted, even if the book is otherwise DRM Free, (Kepub is the book that synchronizes with your device.). If you want a drm Free epub, you have to open the "My Books" page on the Kobo website and download the epub from there.

04-26-2017, 02:39 PM	#6
kAlvaro Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Burgos, Spain Device: Kobo Aura H2O	Funny... I just had the idea of googling for the ISBN of the DRM-FREE EPUB from some other publisher that I purchased in Kobo and I've found it for sale in the site of a famous Spanish department store... with DRM! I suspect this is not an uncommon practice...

04-26-2017, 02:55 PM	#7
kAlvaro Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Burgos, Spain Device: Kobo Aura H2O	Gasp... I've asked Kobo support twice about this and I've got an unrelated canned response twice... :_(

04-27-2017, 09:12 AM	#9
milady133 Groupie Posts: 188 Karma: 616200 Join Date: May 2014 Location: Spain Device: Kobo Forma, Hisense A5	Hi Álvaro, normally Kobo will sell the book without DRM if the publisher tell them so when uploading the ebook to their servers, but from what I've read on other threads, it's not the default and making a mistake is easy. You probably can find the book in www.lektu.com as they only sell DRM free ebooks and B de Books is one of the publishers selling there.

04-30-2017, 12:57 PM	#10
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 78,952 Karma: 144284074 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Kepub is just the ePub with Kobocode added to it. It's still a ZIP file. If the ePub has no DRm, the kepub has no DRM.

05-17-2017, 04:20 AM	#12
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 78,952 Karma: 144284074 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Kobo does not add DRM if the eBook is supposed to be sold without DRM. For example, Tor eBooks.