Answers.Body: <p>Some of the more enlightened publishers, including <a href="http://shop.oreilly.com/category/ebooks.do" rel="nofollow">O'Reilly</a>  and <a href="http://pragprog.com/" rel="nofollow">Pragmatic Programmers</a>, publish their technical books without DRM and in the major formats including PDF, .mobi (for Kindles) and EPUB. I expect other publishers will do likewise. Others watermark their books e.g. where the footer might say 'for Julian Harty' where the books are not DRM'd either. </p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2013-12-24T23:16:36.780Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2014-11-14T03:57:09.860Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2014-11-14T03:57:09.860Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: JulianHarty
Answers.Body: <p>Here are just a few sources of DRM-free ebooks (in alphabetical order):</p>
  <ul>
  <li><a href="http://www.baenebooks.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Baen</a></li>
  <li><a href="http://www.bokus.com/e-bocker" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Bokus</a> (Swedish)</li>
  <li><a href="http://www.drivethrufiction.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">DriveThru</a><br />
  <sup>Note the associated sites for comics, RPGs, etc.</sup></li>
  <li><a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Gutenberg</a><br />
  <sup>Available in other languages, e.g. <a href="http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">German</a> or <a href="http://runeberg.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Swedish</a>.</sup></li>
  <li><a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Humble Ebook Bundle</a><br />
  <sup>Irregular, time-limited offers.</sup></li>
  <li><strike><a href="http://shop.oreilly.com/category/ebooks.do" rel="nofollow noreferrer">O'Reilly</a></strike> (discontinued)</li>
  <li><a href="http://pragprog.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Pragmatic Bookshelf</a></li>
  <li><a href="https://leanpub.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Leanpub</a></li>
  <li><a href="http://www.smashwords.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Smashwords</a></li>
  <li><a href="http://us.macmillan.com/TorForge.aspx" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Tor</a><br />
  <sup>Also via other resellers</sup></li>
  <li><a href="http://weightlessbooks.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Weightless Books</a></li>
  </ul>
  <p>Some of the &quot;big&quot; resellers, such as Amazon or Kobo, sell without DRM if the author/publisher requests it, but not generally. Furthermore, there are many non-book formats (e.g. <a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Lightspeed Magazine</a>) and independent, often crowdfunded projects (e.g. on <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/discover/advanced?category_id=18&amp;sort=end_date" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Kickstarter</a>).</p>
  <p>Note that many DRM-free ebooks use watermarking, that is the files will contain information about the buyer. Since such data can be traced back to the leak in case of an ebook being illegaly shared, such measures detract from piracy but don't actively prevent it.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2022-08-05T21:09:10.367Z
Answers.Text: an update on DRM-free technical ebook purchase:
  o'reilly doesn't sell any ebooks over their platform anymore, and forces to subscribe to safaribooks; 
  [Manning](https://www.manning.com/); 
  [nostarch](https://www.nostarch.com/); 
  Pragmatic Bookshelf (see link above); 
  HumbleBundle (see link above);
  [ebooks.com](https://ebooks.com/) DRM & DRM-free;
Answers.UserDisplayName: bugrasan
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2022-08-06T09:56:36.527Z
Answers.Text: @bugrasan Thanks for the input; why don't you add your own answer with those additions? :)
Answers.UserDisplayName: Raphael
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2022-08-10T05:21:12.167Z
Answers.Text: since it is just a partial answer to the original question, and you already compiled a pretty good list of technical & non-technical stores :-)
Answers.UserDisplayName: bugrasan
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-04-13T15:45:27.167Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2022-08-06T09:57:54.553Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2022-08-06T09:57:54.553Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Raphael
Answers.Body: <p>According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management#DRM_and_e-books">Wikipedia</a>, there are four main ebook DRM schemes in common use today, one each from Amazon, Adobe, Apple, and the Marlin Trust Management Organization (MTMO).</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Amazon's DRM is an adaption of the original Mobipocket encryption, and is applied to Amazon's Mobipocket, KF8 and Topaz format ebooks.</li>
  <li>Adobe's Adept DRM is applied to ePubs and PDFs, and can be read by several third-party ebook readers, as well as Adobe Digital Editions software. Barnes &amp; Noble uses a DRM technology provided by Adobe, and is applied to ePubs and the older Palm format ebooks.</li>
  <li>Apple's Fairplay DRM is applied to ePubs, and can currently only be read by Apple's iBooks app on iOS devices.</li>
  <li>The Marlin DRM was developed and is maintained in an open industry group known as the Marlin Developer Community (MDC) and is licensed by MTMO. (Marlin was founded by five companies, Intertrust, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung and Sony.) The Kno online textbook publisher uses Marlin to protect ebooks it sells in the ePub format. These books can be read on the Kno App for iOS and Android tablets.</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>To answer your second question. Yes, you can purchase DRM free ebooks (Wikipedia lists a few places <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management#DRM-free_works">here</a>.). Whether or not a book is DRM free will depend on the publisher/seller. It is also possible to remove DRM from some books, as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management#Opposition_to_DRM">there is opposition to DRM</a>.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-27T12:53:47.283Z
Answers.Text: It may be possible to remove DRM from ebooks or other digitized content. However that does not imply that it is legal to do so, even when the ebook is available for free. Penalty for removing DRM can be pretty stiff in some  countries, at least in theory. The problem is that imposing DRM seems to have implicitly become a right of its own, independently of copyright, though it may be controlled with copyright, if any exists. The absurd side of it is that anyone can copy a book from reading it, and there is no way to distinguish copying from DRM removal. And copying may be legal.
Answers.UserDisplayName: babou
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2013-12-23T22:26:57.803Z
Answers.Text: It is up to the publisher to decide wether a book is under DRM, some and some authors insist that their product is DrM free and is available through Amazon, B&N etc
Answers.UserDisplayName: mmmmmm
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2013-12-23T18:06:18.237Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2013-12-23T18:06:18.237Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Jason Down
Body: <p>I am a beginner to eBooks, and as somebody who has been "outside" of eBooks I've only ever heard of Amazon's Kindle and seen a variety of options for purchase on Google Play.</p>
  
  <p>I have recently purchased an Android tablet and I want to buy some eBooks, I know from experience with downloading music that different stores will have their own differing, and often, incompatible digital rights management systems.</p>
  
  <p>What kinds of DRM are used in eBooks? Is it possible to purchase DRM free eBooks?</p>
  
Tags: <drm>
Title: What kinds of DRM are used in eBooks? Is it possible to purchase DRM free eBooks?
UserDisplayName: Flyk
ThreadText: # What kinds of DRM are used in eBooks? Is it possible to purchase DRM free eBooks?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2013-12-23)
  
  I am a beginner to eBooks, and as somebody who has been "outside" of eBooks I've only ever heard of Amazon's Kindle and seen a variety of options for purchase on Google Play.
  
  I have recently purchased an Android tablet and I want to buy some eBooks, I know from experience with downloading music that different stores will have their own differing, and often, incompatible digital rights management systems.
  
  What kinds of DRM are used in eBooks? Is it possible to purchase DRM free eBooks?
  
  **Tags:** drm
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 3 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_4 on 2013-12-23. Score: 12 | Accepted answer
  
  According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management#DRM_and_e-books), there are four main ebook DRM schemes in common use today, one each from Amazon, Adobe, Apple, and the Marlin Trust Management Organization (MTMO).
  
  * Amazon's DRM is an adaption of the original Mobipocket encryption, and is applied to Amazon's Mobipocket, KF8 and Topaz format ebooks.
  * Adobe's Adept DRM is applied to ePubs and PDFs, and can be read by several third-party ebook readers, as well as Adobe Digital Editions software. Barnes & Noble uses a DRM technology provided by Adobe, and is applied to ePubs and the older Palm format ebooks.
  * Apple's Fairplay DRM is applied to ePubs, and can currently only be read by Apple's iBooks app on iOS devices.
  * The Marlin DRM was developed and is maintained in an open industry group known as the Marlin Developer Community (MDC) and is licensed by MTMO. (Marlin was founded by five companies, Intertrust, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung and Sony.) The Kno online textbook publisher uses Marlin to protect ebooks it sells in the ePub format. These books can be read on the Kno App for iOS and Android tablets.
  
  To answer your second question. Yes, you can purchase DRM free ebooks (Wikipedia lists a few places [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management#DRM-free_works).). Whether or not a book is DRM free will depend on the publisher/seller. It is also possible to remove DRM from some books, as [there is opposition to DRM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management#Opposition_to_DRM).
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_6**: It is up to the publisher to decide wether a book is under DRM, some and some authors insist that their product is DrM free and is available through Amazon, B&N etc  
  > **username_5**: It may be possible to remove DRM from ebooks or other digitized content. However that does not imply that it is legal to do so, even when the ebook is available for free. Penalty for removing DRM can be pretty stiff in some  countries, at least in theory. The problem is that imposing DRM seems to have implicitly become a right of its own, independently of copyright, though it may be controlled with copyright, if any exists. The absurd side of it is that anyone can copy a book from reading it, and there is no way to distinguish copying from DRM removal. And copying may be legal.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2013-12-24. Score: 6
  
  Some of the more enlightened publishers, including [O'Reilly](http://shop.oreilly.com/category/ebooks.do) and [Pragmatic Programmers](http://pragprog.com/), publish their technical books without DRM and in the major formats including PDF, .mobi (for Kindles) and EPUB. I expect other publishers will do likewise. Others watermark their books e.g. where the footer might say 'for Julian Harty' where the books are not DRM'd either.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2014-04-13. Score: 6
  
  Here are just a few sources of DRM-free ebooks (in alphabetical order):
  
  * [Baen](http://www.baenebooks.com/)
  * [Bokus](http://www.bokus.com/e-bocker) (Swedish)
  * [DriveThru](http://www.drivethrufiction.com/)  
    Note the associated sites for comics, RPGs, etc.
  * [Gutenberg](http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page)  
    Available in other languages, e.g. [German](http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/) or [Swedish](http://runeberg.org/).
  * [Humble Ebook Bundle](https://www.humblebundle.com/)  
    Irregular, time-limited offers.
  * [O'Reilly](http://shop.oreilly.com/category/ebooks.do) (discontinued)
  * [The Pragmatic Bookshelf](http://pragprog.com/)
  * [Leanpub](https://leanpub.com/)
  * [Smashwords](http://www.smashwords.com/)
  * [Tor](http://us.macmillan.com/TorForge.aspx)  
    Also via other resellers
  * [Weightless Books](http://weightlessbooks.com/)
  
  Some of the "big" resellers, such as Amazon or Kobo, sell without DRM if the author/publisher requests it, but not generally. Furthermore, there are many non-book formats (e.g. [Lightspeed Magazine](http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/)) and independent, often crowdfunded projects (e.g. on [Kickstarter](https://www.kickstarter.com/discover/advanced?category_id=18&sort=end_date)).
  
  Note that many DRM-free ebooks use watermarking, that is the files will contain information about the buyer. Since such data can be traced back to the leak in case of an ebook being illegaly shared, such measures detract from piracy but don't actively prevent it.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_3**: an update on DRM-free technical ebook purchase: o'reilly doesn't sell any ebooks over their platform anymore, and forces to subscribe to safaribooks;  [Manning](https://www.manning.com/);  [nostarch](https://www.nostarch.com/);  Pragmatic Bookshelf (see link above);  HumbleBundle (see link above); [ebooks.com](https://ebooks.com/) DRM & DRM-free;  
  > **username_2**: @username_3 Thanks for the input; why don't you add your own answer with those additions? :)  
  > **username_3**: since it is just a partial answer to the original question, and you already compiled a pretty good list of technical & non-technical stores :-)  
  
  ---
  
  