iBookstore Titles to Have FairPlay DRM Locks?

[Paul Daniel Ash]

A report in the Los Angeles Times claims that Apple will be using the digital rights management (DRM) technology, FairPlay, that has been used to protect songs and other media downloaded from iTunes. FairPlay uses encryption to lock media files and prevents them from being shared by computers or other players that are not "authorized" to play the media. Free speech advocates object to most forms of DRM on the basis that it violates principles of fair use and can be used to extend copyright effectively forever. Pressure from these groups led Apple to remove DRM protection from all music on the iTunes Store, though it is still in effect for movies and TV shows.

At the iPad unveiling, Steve Jobs announced that iBooks won’t be a "native' app as iPod, Music, or Movies are on the iPhone OS, but will rather be downloadable from the App Store like the Kindle app is. Reports have indicated that titles on the iBookstore - the e-book equivalent of the iTunes Music and App Stores - wil be priced between $12.99 and $14.99 for new releases. The LA Times report indicates that FairPlay protection will not be mandated, but will be layered on top of the open ePub e-book standard. Content providers like O'Reilly Media have argued loudly that digital rights management schemes hurt sales, and can be expected to be among those who will choose not to make use of FairPlay. O'Reilly is said the be discussing a deal with Apple to get its titles on the iBookstore, though it was not on the list of five publishers mentioned in the iPad/iBooks announcement.

Interestingly, Steve Jobs himself came out strongly against DRM in an open letter he wrote in 2007. The letter, addressing the heads of major recording studios, eventually led to all songs on the iTunes Store being available DRM-free. Jobs asserted then that a "world where every online store sells DRM-free music... is clearly the best alternative for consumers." He also said that DRM is bad for innovation ("If [DRM] requirements were removed, the music industry might experience an influx of new companies willing to invest in innovative new stores and players.") and bad for artists: ("if the music companies are selling over 90 percent of their music DRM-free [as audio CDs], what benefits do they get from selling the remaining small percentage of their music encumbered with a DRM system? There appear to be none.")

[vindutch]

Whats the point of of this forum when the moderators take out any post that bashes Apple.

OOPs there goes another one
Edit Poseidon: You didn't bash Apple lol... Your posts were off topic and a waste of everyone's time. I can cut and paste the deleted posts and show everyone what you said though if you'd like to refresh your memory...

[RonHC]

Whats the point of of this forum when the moderators take out any post that bashes Apple.

????
What i saw was a no-life posting on how he was first so i responded "Get a life "

that wasn't bashing apple.....or was it?

[dale1v]

Whats the point of of this forum when the moderators take out any post that bashes Apple.

OOPs there goes another one

Your two posts were:

OH my god of been waiting years to be first on a post i would like to thank my mom and dad. Yeah and everyone who reads a book on our LCD backlit display will go blind in a couple of hours.

Get A life! That was sheer sarcasim. For the people who always say there first on a post.

What are you on about? So both of your posts were useless and were removed. Grow up or leave.

Just kidding... Dale beat me to it!! damn.

[RonHC]

Your two posts were:
What are you on about? Both your posts were useless and removed. Grow up or leave.

OT: Whats the point of locks, if we want to share, than we share

[vindutch]

Wow i have been a member since August of 2007. Pretty much from the begining. This is the first time i recieved a private message warning me of my infraction. Just because i said you will go blind in a couple of hours reading on ipads backlit lcd screen. Buts its ok for RONHC to tell me to get a life for making a joke about people posting im first. Like i was serious about being first. If you look at how many posts i have made in three years. I think others need to get a life.

[billmilo]

Meh, just something else which will take us a few months to unlock. DRM has never been a problem for me.

[RonHC]

Wow i have been a member since August of 2007. Pretty much from the begining. This is the first time i recieved a private message warning me of my infraction. Just because i said you will go blind in a couple of hours reading on ipads backlit lcd screen. Buts its ok for RONHC to tell me to get a life for making a joke about people posting im first. Like i was serious about being first. If you look at how many posts i have made in three years. I think others need to get a life.

lol stop complaining, and what does having to be a member for 3 years got to prove anything?

[KartRacer]

Maybe off topic, maybe not, but once you're done with one of these books, can you 'gift' it to another user without having to reset your authorization limit? Or are you stuck with that book forever locked to your hardware?

[TooSlo]

It's sad that the iPad just keeps getting more and more terrible.

Locking down devices even further is a terrible thing. While a company may lose out on some profit from pirated media, the negative press outweighs that in my opinion.

Example: Adobe Photoshop. While the prices are far too high for many people, they turn to piracy. Over the years, Adobe has been extremely lax on their DRM technology because they know most of the people pirating it wouldn't have bought it otherwise.

While this can lead to some people who may have purchased it instead going the route of piracy, the sheer amount of people who pirate it pass the app to their friends, or at least talk about the application in a positive light.

From that point, when people talk about photo manipulation software, they mention Adobe Photoshop. Phrases such as "Let me photoshop that up really quick." or even internet memes such as "photochop" become part of internet slang.

In the end, Adobe has done it right. Create a product that's amazing quality and rely on word of mouth (and a few pirates) to make sure everyone on the internet knows about it.

[NSXrebel]

Maybe off topic, maybe not, but once you're done with one of these books, can you 'gift' it to another user without having to reset your authorization limit? Or are you stuck with that book forever locked to your hardware?

It's not locked to your hardware, it's locked to your iTunes account. Meaning you can use it on several devices, up to 5 I think, that you authorize it to be used on. Once you authorize 5 machines, you can authorize more by removing authorization on whatever machines you want.

[clikzip]

It's not locked to your hardware, it's locked to your iTunes account. Meaning you can use it on several devices, up to 5 I think, that you authorize it to be used on. Once you authorize 5 machines, you can authorize more by removing authorization on whatever machines you want.

You can, but the problem ive run into is i switch operating systems as i like to format and restore my computer about every 3 months. I also use 2 computers...You have to make sure you deauthorize a computer before you format. If not your screwed, you can only deauthorize all 5 once a year.

[rhekt]

not exactly sure which side of the road i stand on with DRM. in theory i guess its good. but it does tend to hinder your freedom. i mean you buy a hardbound book and you can loan that to anyone youd like. youve purchased it right. you should also be able to do that with a digital copy. but i guess this is where its getting complicated. because when you loan your hardbound book, its still just one book. if you loan a digital copy. it now becomes two and three and so on. so i guess im torn.

[clikzip]

not exactly sure which side of the road i stand on with DRM. in theory i guess its good. but it does tend to hinder your freedom. i mean you buy a hardbound book and you can loan that to anyone youd like. youve purchased it right. you should also be able to do that with a digital copy. but i guess this is where its getting complicated. because when you loan your hardbound book, its still just one book. if you loan a digital copy. it now becomes two and three and so on. so i guess im torn.

Good point I didnt think of that.

[southfrisco]

Nice touch that Apple is giving the publishers an option to decide if they want to DRM their digital books. As if the publishers are going to say no to DRM. This makes me even more hesitant to purchase the iPad as an ebook reader.

[tudtran]

This doesn't surprise me at all. Apple is very good with copyright issues.

[TC316]

I guess people don't understand the concept of protecting ones property. These same people think that everything should be free. I'm sure artists appreciate the fact that their material is being stolen by ignorant people. Truly sad.....

[kylen721]

Nice touch that Apple is giving the publishers an option to decide if they want to DRM their digital books. As if the publishers are going to say no to DRM. This makes me even more hesitant to purchase the iPad as an ebook reader.

You may be surprised some publishers may see this as a way to say hey look we wont lock down our books when those other guys will. In the end there will of course be companies that use it, but I think they may surprise us.