DRM: What it is and why you should care about it. Ethics of DRM Removal

[Apprentice Alf]

DRM is used by publishers to restrict what you can do with your ebooks. DRM controls which devices you can use to read your ebook, and stops you converting your ebooks from one format to another.

DRM makes buying and using ebooks harder. When you first start using ebooks, you might not notice the restrictions very much. But the restrictions are there.

There are several different DRM schemes. Ebooks with one DRM scheme can’t be read on a device that uses a different DRM scheme. Some DRM schemes limit ebooks to one device only, so if you want to read that ebook on a different device, it’s necessary to download the ebook again. Others require new devices to be authorised by a central server on the Internet.

When you want to use a different ebook reader, or if the supplier stops supporting the ebooks you’ve bought, you may lose access to your DRMed ebooks.

So to be able to read your ebooks on all the devices you have now, and to be sure that you will still be able to read your ebooks in the future, you will want to remove the DRM.



Ethics of DRM Removal
None of the developers and maintainers of DRM removal tools or this site are in favour of ebooks being ‘pirated’.
We expect people to use these tools only to gain full access to ebooks they have bought themselves. Dedrmed ebooks should not be uploaded to open servers, torrents, or other methods of mass distribution. No help will be given to people doing such things, and no links to such books should be posted here. Authors, Publishers and Ebook retailers all need to earn money to be able to carry on making great ebooks available.

[alkopop79]

It's all good but I wish DeDRM actually worked. That would be great. I would loved that. In the meantime Calibre on Snow Leopard says that the book I wanted to convert still has DRM. Any ideas why?

[alkopop79]

Whoever reads this: these pieces of softwares do not work on Mac OS X and Windows. They might be malwares and might damage your computer. Or even if not, they don't work and you never get help or support.

[alkopop79]

How about the ethics of writing software? I mean, writing software that actually works and help the people who use it. How about that?