Touch Kobo books are they truly mine?

[GeoffR]

I don't think DRM has anything to do with ownership of the book. Kobo has both DRM and DRM-free books for sale, but I don't own the DRM-free ebooks any more than I own the DRM-encumbered ones, as I can't sell or give away either ebook to someone else as I could with the paper books I own.

I think of buying an ebook from Kobo as buying a lifetime lease. Owning the book would be better, but the difference in price between the ebook and paper book, along with other conveniences, makes it worthwhile leasing rather than owning.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Well personally, I own all of my Kobo books. Thanks, Apprentice Alf!

[Uschiekid]

Originally Posted by book64

Not all of us are as wise as you

not wise! cheeaaap cheeaaaaaaaap very very cheaaap. I waste lots of time being as cheap as I am. I wasn't trying to disparage you at all...I just can't part with money easily. I was just making fun of myself and pointing out that you have just 2 options about pre-purchased material...

stuff you buy from now on you can do as before or you can also follow the advice of some on this forum to only buy DRM-free.

you also commented on not having much (any?) selection for ebooks at your local library? And asked if you can join multiple libraries.

The answer is YES (as long as any of the following apply). So the general rule is you have to work, live or go to school in a library district to qualify for a library card. Sometimes different library districts overlap, which might give you even more options.

This is my case....
I live in one area that has a network of libraries. Within the larger network of libraries I'm allowed to join, there are smaller networks. Some of these libraries have their own ebooks, some are part of ontario's (canada) ebook library service, some have no ebooks.

When I worked in a city a distance away, I also was able to get a library card for that network of libraries which was totally distinct from the network of libraries where I lived.
Same would apply for if you attend any level of school in a different library district.
In each case (work, live, go to school), you will need some kind of proof...pay slip, bill/driver's licence, or school ID I think are quite commonly accepted.

It does depend on the country you live though...both US and Canada seem fairly good and to follow this system, if you live somewhere else, maybe someone else on this forum can help you figure out how to optimise your library ebook options.

[paola]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

Well personally, I own all of my Kobo books. Thanks, Apprentice Alf!

I think you are not alone...

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

Well personally, I own all of my Kobo books. Thanks, Apprentice Alf!

Removing DRM does not make you the owner of the book. I could remove DRM from a library-loaned book, but I would still have to return it at the end of the loan period and I couldn't give it to anyone else in the meantime, so I wouldn't be its owner.

E-books bought from Kobo, Amazon, and most other places are like library books, except that the loan period is for life.

[book64]

Don't want to find out how to DRM free my books.

But how can I tell if the books I buy are DRM free then?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by book64

Don't want to find out how to DRM free my books.

But how can I tell if the books I buy are DRM free then?

Every book store indicates this in a different way. Once you've bought a book, just see if calibre can display it.


[Oh, and by the time you find that you NEED to find out how to remove the DRM from your ebooks, it might be too late. It's best to do it while it's still possible.]

[Mrs_Often]

Originally Posted by Sharkus

As eBook DRM is being discussed, I thought I'd link to this, which could be worth a read.

Thanks Sharkus, interesting!

[Uschiekid]

Originally Posted by book64

Don't want to find out how to DRM free my books.

But how can I tell if the books I buy are DRM free then?

Kobo will say either under download options:
Adobe DRM EPUB
or
EPUB (DRM-free)

For example, go into "New Releases" on their website...
http://www.kobobooks.com/lists/New_R...tWOutGA-1.html

a list comes up with a picture of the book on the left, some written information in the middle and the price on the right. The information above is found at the bottom of the written information.

Any book that is written EPUB (DRM-free) should be fine with backups and reading on any epub device.

Other companies should have a similar setup for whether something is DRM or DRM-free.

[book64]

Originally Posted by Uschiekid

Kobo will say either under download options:
Adobe DRM EPUB
or
EPUB (DRM-free)

For example, go into "New Releases" on their website...
http://www.kobobooks.com/lists/New_R...tWOutGA-1.html

a list comes up with a picture of the book on the left, some written information in the middle and the price on the right. The information above is found at the bottom of the written information.

Any book that is written EPUB (DRM-free) should be fine with backups and reading on any epub device.

Other companies should have a similar setup for whether something is DRM or DRM-free.

Never knew that Thanks a bunch

[Sharkus]

Originally Posted by Uschiekid

Kobo will say either under download options:
Adobe DRM EPUB
or
EPUB (DRM-free)

For example, go into "New Releases" on their website...
http://www.kobobooks.com/lists/New_R...tWOutGA-1.html

a list comes up with a picture of the book on the left, some written information in the middle and the price on the right. The information above is found at the bottom of the written information.

Any book that is written EPUB (DRM-free) should be fine with backups and reading on any epub device.

Other companies should have a similar setup for whether something is DRM or DRM-free.

Something similar for books purchased from the iBookstore:

Go to iTunes, find the book and use the Get Info option on it, if it says Book or Purchased Book then it will be DRM free. If it says Protected Book then it contains Apple's (Fairplay - fairly sure that's what it's known as) DRM.

Therefore, if it's the former, you should be able to reveal the book in Finder / Explorer and then copy the resulting ePub / PDF file onto your Kobo Device / Kobo App.

[Uschiekid]

Originally Posted by book64

Never knew that Thanks a bunch

no probs!

[book64]

Originally Posted by Uschiekid

Kobo will say either under download options:
Adobe DRM EPUB
or
EPUB (DRM-free)

For example, go into "New Releases" on their website...
http://www.kobobooks.com/lists/New_R...tWOutGA-1.html

a list comes up with a picture of the book on the left, some written information in the middle and the price on the right. The information above is found at the bottom of the written information.

Any book that is written EPUB (DRM-free) should be fine with backups and reading on any epub device.

Other companies should have a similar setup for whether something is DRM or DRM-free.

So do ALL kindle books have DRM? Even the free ones?

Plus they don't all seem to be on my PC to add to calibre ( and the ones that are are nameless to find!)

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by book64

So do ALL kindle books have DRM? Even the free ones?

I don't think so. It is up to the author or publisher to specify DRM or not. But I assume that Amazon apply DRM if not specified.

Plus they don't all seem to be on my PC to add to calibre ( and the ones that are are nameless to find!)

I assume you have used Kindle for PC to download the books. The file names are meaningless. I just drag sort by timestamp and copy the recent ones to calibre.

[Uschiekid]

Originally Posted by book64

So do ALL kindle books have DRM? Even the free ones?

No, but they are all closed-source format....ie you have to convert them to another format in order to get them to work on any other device...which sometimes doesn't work 100%. So if it's a free book, better to just get it in epub format (if possible...ie if public domain) than to try and convert to epub.