Amazon Insists on DRM for Mobipocket eBooks

[HarryT]

That, I'm afraid I don't know. I'll see if I can find out.

[JSWolf]

A lot of people do not shop at Mobipocket because of their prices. So if they do not distribute the DRM free Mobi file, then it's useless.

[pdurrant]

Really? I thought Mobipocket insisted on DRM.

Section 1.E of the publishers' agreement includes the sentence:

"In the event of a sale of Publisher's Digital Content, eBookBase will apply commercially reasonable Digital Rights Management (DRM) services to the product."

https://www.mobipocket.com/ebookbase..._agreement.asp

I'd be delighted to find that it was possible to supply non-DRM ebooks through Mobipocket.



DRM

Originally Posted by HarryT

Something about this sounds fishy to me. I suspect we're not hearing the whole story. There's certainly no problem with selling books in the Mobi store which don't have DRM - I know people who are doing precisely that.

[Moejoe]

I let Defective by Design know about this latest Amazon snafu. They'll be incorporating this story in a new action against the Kindle very soon.

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Amazon is strong arming publishers to INCLUDE DRM. When a publisher wants to publish DRM free in Mobipocket, Amazon say no you HAVE to have the DRM.

This is true. Ereads by preference distributes their books DRM-free and multiformat. (Just check the Ereads Store inside Fictionwise.) But when they distribute to the Kindle Store, they must submit it via mobipocket.com, which requires DRM. They are given no option.

The same is true of the Sony store, of course.

Which is why, for my ereads titles, I always recommend going to fictionwise, even for mobipocket editions.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by starrigger

This is true. Ereads by preference distributes their books DRM-free and multiformat. (Just check the Ereads Store inside Fictionwise.) But when they distribute to the Kindle Store, they must submit it via mobipocket.com, which requires DRM. They are given no option.

The same is true of the Sony store, of course.

Which is why, for my ereads titles, I always recommend going to fictionwise, even for mobipocket editions.

Is there a difference between submitting via mobipocket for the Kindle and going directly via Kindle DTP software?

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Is there a difference between submitting via mobipocket for the Kindle and going directly via Kindle DTP software?

I've no personal experience with submitting to the Kindle store. When I asked my ereads publisher why my books couldn't be DRM-free at Kindle, they explained that they are not permitted to submit directly to Amazon, but must upload through mobipocket.com, and that DRM is a requirement for that. It is possible that requirements are different for publishers uploading large numbers of titles than they are for individuals uploading single titles.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

As to the Sony, I don't own one, I'm waiting to buy a device that isn't encumbered with lock-ins to particular stores or needs DRM to be in any way useable.

Because Sony can use/read ePub, you are not locked into the Sony store or into DRMed books. You can go to any store that sells ePub books. Whether they have DRM is another matter, but if they do, it isn't because Sony requires it.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Is there a difference between submitting via mobipocket for the Kindle and going directly via Kindle DTP software?

If you are asking whether or not the Kindle DTP software requires DRM, I do not know if the software itself does, but the Amazon contract by which Amazon will take your, for example, ePub book and convert it through the Kindle DTP states that Amazon will add the strongest possible DRM and reserves the right to change the DRM should it be cracked to insure the file remains DRMed.

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Because Sony can use/read ePub, you are not locked into the Sony store or into DRMed books. You can go to any store that sells ePub books. Whether they have DRM is another matter, but if they do, it isn't because Sony requires it.

You're right, of course, but I've already made my decision against the Sony in favour of one of the newer crop of readers coming out -- Txtr looks the most promising to me at the moment. And I should have clarified the statment I was making; I didn't mean to infer I wasn't buying the Sony because it is DRM infected, I know I can use it to full capacity with software like Calibre, although any commercial books I would want to buy for use on the Sony would be by their very nature full of DRM as you have already stated. There are plenty or reasons why I've chosen not to buy the Sony -- form factor, past history of the company, the Txtr and BOOX also seem to be more-or-less a better alternative so far.

[pdurrant]

Yesterday I sent an email to jeff@amazon.com complaining that despite his statements that Amazon doesn't insist on DRM, I couldn't find a way to submit without DRM.

This morning I got back a reply from Nick Boone-Lutz from the Kindle ebooks team.

It seems that you can publish on the Kindle without DRM, but not through the Mobipocket web site. You have to go through the Amazon Digital Text Platform

http://dtp.amazon.com/

And that will let you upload a non-DRMed Mobipocket file for the Kindle. (& other formats that get converted.)

I still think that the 35%/65% split is amazingly bad, but it seems non-DRM on Kindle is as easy as that. It won't get the book into other ebook stores, of course.

Originally Posted by starrigger

This is true. Ereads by preference distributes their books DRM-free and multiformat. (Just check the Ereads Store inside Fictionwise.) But when they distribute to the Kindle Store, they must submit it via mobipocket.com, which requires DRM. They are given no option.

The same is true of the Sony store, of course.

Which is why, for my ereads titles, I always recommend going to fictionwise, even for mobipocket editions.

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Yesterday I sent an email to jeff@amazon.com complaining that despite his statements that Amazon doesn't insist on DRM, I couldn't find a way to submit without DRM.

This morning I got back a reply from Nick Boone-Lutz from the Kindle ebooks team.

It seems that you can publish on the Kindle without DRM, but not through the Mobipocket web site. You have to go through the Amazon Digital Text Platform

http://dtp.amazon.com/

And that will let you upload a non-DRMed Mobipocket file for the Kindle. (& other formats that get converted.)

I still think that the 35%/65% split is amazingly bad, but it seems non-DRM on Kindle is as easy as that. It won't get the book into other ebook stores, of course.

That's fantastic news. Now why didn't they just make a statement to that effect when all this blew up? Thanks for taking the initiative and emailing them pdurrant.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

That's fantastic news. Now why didn't they just make a statement to that effect when all this blew up? Thanks for taking the initiative and emailing them pdurrant.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Yesterday I sent an email to jeff@amazon.com complaining that despite his statements that Amazon doesn't insist on DRM, I couldn't find a way to submit without DRM.

This morning I got back a reply from Nick Boone-Lutz from the Kindle ebooks team.

It seems that you can publish on the Kindle without DRM, but not through the Mobipocket web site. You have to go through the Amazon Digital Text Platform

http://dtp.amazon.com/

And that will let you upload a non-DRMed Mobipocket file for the Kindle. (& other formats that get converted.)

I still think that the 35%/65% split is amazingly bad, but it seems non-DRM on Kindle is as easy as that. It won't get the book into other ebook stores, of course.

That's what I was thinking with my earlier question. Good to know and thanks for the follow-up.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Yesterday I sent an email to jeff@amazon.com complaining that despite his statements that Amazon doesn't insist on DRM, I couldn't find a way to submit without DRM.

This morning I got back a reply from Nick Boone-Lutz from the Kindle ebooks team.

It seems that you can publish on the Kindle without DRM, but not through the Mobipocket web site. You have to go through the Amazon Digital Text Platform

http://dtp.amazon.com/

And that will let you upload a non-DRMed Mobipocket file for the Kindle. (& other formats that get converted.)

I still think that the 35%/65% split is amazingly bad, but it seems non-DRM on Kindle is as easy as that. It won't get the book into other ebook stores, of course.

So on one hand Amazon insists on DRM and on the other hand if you want to go exclusive for the Kindle, you can sell DRM free. This doesn't make a lot os sense. Amazon is not being very consistent here. They own Mobipocket and can change the way Mobipocket handles DRM. There is no reason not to allow publishers to publish Mobipocket without DRM. I think this is another ploy to sell more Kindles.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So on one hand Amazon insists on DRM and on the other hand if you want to go exclusive for the Kindle, you can sell DRM free. This doesn't make a lot os sense.

Does using the dtp mean you are exclusive? Is there a rule that if you submit your book to Amazon to sell in the kindle store, you can't also sell on your own web site? I assume there is not considering the Mr. Jordan sold his books both in the Kindle store and on his own web site.

BOb