Selling a book with Apple’s iBook Author program is now a one-way ticket to Apple being the only place you can sell the book. Maybe selling your book on iBooks isn’t such a great deal after all.
Dan Wineman of Venomous Porridge went to publish his first book from within the iBooks Author application when he was met with a curious notice. Once a book is made available for sale in the iBookstore, it can only be sold through that venue.
A quick look at the iBooks Author EULA reconfirms the dialog box’s diabolical message:
(ii) if your Work is provided for a fee (including as part of any subscription-based product or service), you may only distribute the Work through Apple and such distribution is subject to the following limitations and conditions: (a) you will be required to enter into a separate written agreement with Apple (or an Apple affiliate or subsidiary) before any commercial distribution of your Work may take place; and (b) Apple may determine for any reason and in its sole discretion not to select your Work for distribution.
Ugh, the worst part is that you never agree to anything when you install the application. The EULA never appears when you install. Apparently, you implicitly agree to the EULA simply by using the software. If you’ve worked for weeks on a book only to discover you can’t sell it anywhere else once you publish it to the iBookstore, you’re gonna be pissed.
Apple is jumping into the world of publishing here. If you had a deal with Random House to sell your book, you wouldn’t be able to have Penguin Publishing also sell it. These deals, however, are transparent. The restrictions don’t just appear as you prepare to submit your manuscript. Apple is assuming rights over your content in the worst possible way. [Venomous Porridge]
Kelvin
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 5:25 PMDoes apple claim rights to your content or merely to the file you create through iBooks Author. I have read conflicting reports, which seem to suggest that you can still use a different publishing program to publish your original content elsewhere, its only if you use the iBook Author application – that file has to be sold on the iBook store. Seeing as the software is free, it does sound like a pretty good deal.
Dad
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 5:31 PMI have a book in the iBook store and also in the Amazon (Kindle) store. I also know other authors doing the same. My book had previously been published as a physical book years before Apple or Amazon had digital book stores.
LyndonL
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 5:34 PMI think Apple needs to instigate a “do no evil” policy. I harbour more and more disdain for them by the week with articles like these.
monkeymind
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 7:15 PMAnd that worked so well for Google.
MDolley
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 5:55 PMDoesn’t this only relate to the iBook file? I really don’t see the big deal. Apple is providing a tool to create iBooks, which are a proprietary format. The only place you can sell iBooks is through Apple.
If you don’t want to create an iBook, use a different tool.
Kaze
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 6:57 PMIt does say ‘distribute the work’
Kelvin
Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 3:55 AMA Work in this case seems to be defined as the actual file generated by the software – see the top of the user agreement:
“If you charge a fee for any book or other work you generate using this software (a “Work”), you may only sell or distribute such Work through Apple (e.g., through the iBookstore) and such distribution will be subject to a separate agreement with Apple.”
So the stuff you wrote, the “content” lets say, isn’t being claimed by apple, the “work” is (i.e the file as defined above). Its some confusing language, but it is there.
Brian
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 5:56 PMThe Penguin Publishing – Random House example is quite different to what Apple is doing here. Those two are publishers, they don’t control the retail environment. What apple is doing here is trying to control your choice of retailer, which I’m sure would not stand up to a legal challenge as it’s clearly anticompetitive.
iBook Author may be free software, but there’s definitely no such things as a free lunch when it comes to Apple. Imagine the outcry of Microsoft tried to control how you use the documents you create with Word.
Richard
Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 12:11 AMI dunno, in a way I feel that by using these tools and the like then Apple is also serving as your publisher. They do own the retail outlet too, yes, but they’re getting the book out there also.
Not sure whether it’s right or wrong or not, but to me using these services does mean you are publishing it via Apple.
Kaze
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 6:59 PMCareful mate you just said that apple is doing somthing bad, the izombies are everywere (including in your office)
cayal
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 9:13 PMPretty sure this is illegal.
Cabbage
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 10:10 PMWhat do you guys honestly expect? Since when has apple ever done something good for the Consumer, good for the content producer, hell. Since when has apple ever done anything good for anyone ever then apple.
Apple is an anti-competitive company with the morals of a Satanist pedo.
Nick
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 10:15 PMYou… wow. Ok, yep.
NOZ
Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 8:09 AMLol
smurfydog
Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 10:52 AMAs the EULA states, you may only sell a Work through Apple. (shocking!)
The EULA defines “a Work” as content published as an iBook using the iBook Author software.
So “a Work” is not the content, but the output file of Apple’s free iBook Author software. While it reads a little murky (as does much EULA language) the point is that there can be no competing market for e-books sold in iBooks format. You can sell the content in other formats wherever you like.
Have you read the iTunes EULA? It’s so locked down that you’re not even allowed to run your own nuclear facility using iTunes software!!!
“THIS SOFTWARE IS NOT INTENDED FOR USE IN THE OPERATION OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES, AIRCRAFT NAVIGATION OR COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS, LIFE SUPPORT MACHINES OR OTHER EQUIPMENT”