Although eBooks are a great alternative to paper books, they still need time to beat the charm of paper books in many ways. Firstly you need to find a desired book from the best platform; secondly, you have to pay some price to acquire it, then there is a need for a suitable format so it will open quickly. The next factor that can pinch your mind is that the eBooks you purchase are not always yours.
In the case of eBooks, buyers are subject to a license agreement, which the service provider can revoke at any time. Digital license access and expiration of eBooks are different for every book depending on the publisher and book title. Digital rentals (e-Rental) of these books expire after a few days from purchase (such as 60, 90, or 180 days). Purchased eBooks allow you to own the eBook indefinitely (Perpetual Offline Access). If you want to keep the bought eBook with you forever, try to look for ones not protected by DRM (Digital Rights Management).
You can dig out this article to explore more about DRM and other facts about eBook membership.
Why Are ebooks Protected By Digital Rights Management (DRM)?
When a reader purchases eBooks from stores such as Google Play Books, Amazon, Kobo, or any other platform, they come with a watermark and DRM (Digital Rights Management). Many publishers protect their eBooks using DRM, but not all books have this protection. In simple words, DRM is the technology used to protect digital content like movies, eBooks, music, etc.
A decade ago, this form of protection was adopted as an industry norm. DRM works when a raw eBook file, like the ePub format, is protected by software to make it unreadable by other systems.
Ways DRM Help In Protecting eBooks
There are several methods for protecting content, products, or software using DRM. Let’s shed some light on the uses of this useful DRM.
- Users cannot edit or save the content.
- They cannot forward or share the content or products of the authorized party with anybody else.
- There is a restriction in printing the content. Some people, in the case of certain subscriptions, are allowed to print the file or piece of art a certain number of times only.
- Users are also not allowed to take screenshots.
- It sets the expiry date on media or documents, after which users can no longer access the content.
- DRM only provides access to specific IP addresses, places, or devices. In other words, if your media is exclusively accessible to US citizens, it won’t be available to people in other nations.
How Can You Own eBooks Without Violating Copyrights?
The easy and classy way to own eBooks is to purchase those not protected by DRM. Many publishers now sell books in digital form without DRM, which users can keep with them for years.
To overcome piracy and copyright issues, the world’s giant publishing companies don’t give libraries eBooks free of cost. Once a library pays the price for any title, it may last for 12 to 24 months, after which the library has to renew it by paying again.
The Best Platform To Get eBooks
There are many platforms in the world selling eBooks to readers; below, I mentioned some for your convenience. Depending on the platforms, the expiry date and membership can vary.
Explore some of the platforms and pick the best book for you!
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Amazon | The largest eBook store on the internet is undoubtedly Amazon. Not only eBooks but several other features forced users to come back and enjoy its services. The Kindle Unlimited membership service is one example. You can download and read as many books from the library’s more than one million volumes for $9.99/month. |
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Smashwords | Smashwords is the world’s best distributor of eBooks that offers plenty of filters, such as word count filters and filters for plays and poetry. eBooks are available for download in various formats, such as PDF, EPUB, and MOBI. |
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Kobo | Kobo is one of the biggest online eBook stores, offering five million different titles. The ratio of fiction to nonfiction is balanced. Kobo apps exceptionally work with iOS, Android, and other operating systems. |
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Hive |
The UK-based store Hive sells several books, including new releases and bestsellers, which you can download easily. |
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Google Play Books |
Google Play Books dedicate a separate section for bookselling, with five million titles for readers. |
Frequently Asked Questions
This section helps you to alleviate your queries regarding eBook protection or how long the eBook lasts.
How Long Does A Book Stay On Kindle?
The book on Kindle lasts as long as the Kindle device is working; if, in any case, Kindle stops working, you get a new device and download the books from your account.
Here is one thing to remember – when you “purchase” a digital book from the Amazon platform, you only get access to it, but you don’t own it. You can read the book till you have a license, and Amazon can revoke the licensing anytime for any reason.
How To Protect eBooks From Illegal Theft?
Nobody can deny that theft, illegal copying, and editing of the original content are present worldwide issues. Luckily, there are some ways by which publishers can protect their digital content, such as ebooks. They can do this via ebook registration; in case anyone attempts to copy your content, you can immediately contact the lawyer for a lawsuit.
The next method that you can use is a publication of a copyright statement that discourages people who consider copying or spreading material illegally.
Our Summary
If you are a fan of digital content, buy books instead of paper books because they are easily accessible, convenient to use, and easy to read on the go. All these points look fascinating to those who are only one-time readers. On the other hand, those who love keeping the books with them may get frustrated after knowing that the books they purchased are not theirs because of the expiry date and limited restrictions from the publisher or authorized company.
So, for all E-readers, you have to pay a subscription fee or try to look for books that are not protected by DRM or any other protected software so you can enjoy the book access without getting worried about the limited access.
