[Athen] More on DRM for Apple iPad ebooks

[Shelley Haven]

The LA Times reports that Apple is offering their DRM  
"FairPlay" (currently used on iTunes) to publishers for their ePub- 
formatted ebooks on the upcoming iPad.  It limits how many times  
digital songs can be copied to other devices; presumably it would work  
the same, limiting how many instances of a downloaded ebook could co- 
exist on a user's devices.  (Link below article.)


Apple to wrap digital books in FairPlay copy protection [Clarified]
February 15, 2010
When Apple launches its iBook store to sell titles for its new iPad  
device in March, many of its titles are expected to come with a set of  
handsome digital locks designed to deter piracy.

Veteran iTunes customers will recognize the locks as FairPlay, a  
digital rights management software that once limited how many times  
digital songs can be copied onto different computers. (Apple phased  
out FairPlay for music a year ago, and now sells unfettered tunes.)

Next month, Apple will be dusting off those digital cuffs for books,  
according to sources in the publishing industry.

No doubt some publishers, including O'Reilly Media -- which has  
vociferously argued that digital locks are harmful to sales -- will  
opt not to deploy FairPlay. (O'Reilly, which puts out technical books,  
was not on the list of five publishers during Apple's announcement of  
the iPad, but is discussing a deal with Apple.)

But the majority of publishers are expected to embrace FairPlay, along  
with other copy protection software such as Adobe's Content Server 4,  
as a means to squelch incipient book piracy as the e-book market  
begins to take off.

-- Alex Pham

Clarified 1:50 pm: An earlier version of this post said Apple phased  
out FairPlay a year ago and now sells songs without DRM. Apple  
continues to use FairPlay to protect other iTunes content. Thanks to  
our readers for noticing this omission!

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/02/apple-ibooks-drm-fairplay.html
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