in-house retailing - DRM for ePUB

[InStore]

Hello MobileRead forums!

My company is preparing to self-publish a guide ebook to an application which we develop, the guide book will be sold through all the standard channels such as Kindle, iBooks, Nook, Kobo, etc etc etc but we anticipate the vast majority of sales will be made through our own retail store built within our software application as an upgrade option. By selling internally to a dedicated user base we have a far greater chance of success for sales of the guide.

Based on all the research I have seen we decided it is best to use ePUB with DRM for our in-house sales, we will be providing an eReader to our customers that do not already have a compatible reader solution for the desktop, or they can transfer the ePUB file to whatever compatible eReader they choose. Unfortunately due to the unique issues with our customer base we have to use DRM, on the bright side we plan on helping any customer who needs to relocate the file between readers. Our customer service goal is to not let DRM get in the way of our relationship with our users.

I have been searching all over the web and on this forum for ways to DRM our ePUB files without having to sell them through a third party bookstore, the only option I have found so far is Adobe's Content Server 4 which is very expensive. Can anyone recommend an alternative idea, or perhaps a solution provider which uses Adobe Content Server 4 where we can pay per DRM usage (or in bulk usage)? Has anyone else here had a similar issue that could give me some guidance?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[frabjous]

I sincerely hope no one helps you with your DRM shenanigans.

DRM by definition gets in the way between users and the content you've sold them.

If people really want to illegally distribute your ebook, they will. Adobe's DRM has already been cracked, and there are always other methods of getting around such things. I'm not saying it's OK to do this, only that I think it's best just to trust your customers, and for those you cannot trust, DRM is not going to help much anyway.

[eBookLuke]

Originally Posted by InStore

Hello MobileRead forums!
…we have to use DRM, on the bright side we plan on helping any customer who needs to relocate the file between readers. …the only option I have found so far is Adobe's Content Server 4 which is very expensive. Can anyone recommend an alternative idea, or perhaps a solution provider which uses Adobe Content Server 4 where we can pay per DRM usage…

1) Adobe DRM is quite easily removable. It doesn't provide a good protection against file sharing. Moreover, it creates a lot of trouble to legal user (authorization problems, sharing between legally own device and so on).
Better is a Watermark protection.

2) there are a few services to apply DRM and distribute your books. In Italy I know Stealth from Simplicissimus Book Farm.
Please write to info[at]simplicissimus.it to obtain more info about the Stealth process and distribution of the books outside Italy.
Look at the site: http://translate.google.com/translat...i%2Fstealth%2F

Luke

[neilmarr]

You won't find much support for DRM here, I'm afraid, InStore. It's seen as unjustified violation of the rights of ownership, an inconvenience and an insult to honest buyers rather than any flimsy protection against piracy. My own indie house carries a note on our store's front page offering to supply a free DRMless copy of any BeWrite Books ebook bought from a third party that is padlocked by DRM software. But it's good to have your company here. Good luck and best wishes. Neil

[wallcraft]

Adobe DRM is your only option for ePub. So either you buy from Adobe directly or partner with someone who adds Adobe DRM for you. In the latter case, they are likely to take a relatively large percentage of each sale. I don't know if any reseller offers the kind of service you want. Lulu might be one possibility.

One new option is Google ebooks. They hold ebooks in the cloud and also offer Adobe DRMed ePub downloads. Google also has an affiliate program, so you could probably offer your ebook on your site, but fulfilled by Google, and get a slightly larger profit that way.

[eBookLuke]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

You won't find much support for DRM here, I'm afraid, InStore.

Moreover, the DRMed files are not readable under many platform, such iPad, iPhone, Android, Linux etc., while watermarked file are.

Luke