To understand the best ePUB DRM solutions available in the market, it is first important to understand both the terms separately. An understanding of both ePUB and DRM will allow you to choose the best option to author and protect your digital files.
What is DRM?
DRM is an acronym that stands for digital rights management. This software solution has gained currency in the online world given that it has been designed to protect online content from unauthorized share and download. Content piracy on the Internet has led to immense revenue loss to the online content publishers with loss of reputation as an added burden. As a digital publisher, you can control how you share your files from reader to reader and from device to device. Some popular readers like Kindle have built-in DRM that prevents you from sharing your Kindle purchases. However, the more open formats such as ePUB require separate DRM solutions. What this means is that if a reader brought an ePUB file online they could share it across devices. However, if they brought the ePUB eBook that is DRM-protected they would not be able to share it across devices. So what is ePUB and why does it have to be DRM-protected?
What is ePUB?
ePUB is a short form for electronic publication and the eBook format using this style has a .epub extension. The ePUB is a popular format for packaging online content because it is open source and is supported by several eReaders. It is compatible with most tablets, smartphones, and computers. Given that it is open source and can easily be shared by users across devices, files in the ePUB have to be DRM-protected. The ePUB is the format of choice for content packaging with the global publishing industry rallying around it as the single standard.
Related read: 7 Ways to Protect Your eBooks from Online Piracy Now!
ePUB DRM solutions offer a host of benefits:
Add a protective barrier to your content: The Internet is difficult to regulate while sharing unauthorized content is simple. ePUB DRM solutions add an extra layer of protection to your files, thus, protecting your sales and revenues. With an ePUB DRM, you can download and upload files, restrict sharing options for reads, and also download to a maximum of six devices.
Restrict sharing features: An ePUB DRM solution either totally or to a significant extent restricts the copy-paste feature, so restricting the opportunity to share content and thus violating copyright.
Increase ROI: With the copy-paste, print, and other sharing options restricted, you stand to gain in terms of revenue. This is because those who want to access your content would have to make a purchase.
Maintain IPR control: ePUB DRM, apart from restricting sharing of content also allows you to control who views and what they can do with it. So you may set a date till which people can access your files and then deny further access.
In a nutshell, ePUB is an open-source publishing standard that is widely used in the publishing industry. Some ePUB platforms are DRM-protected ensuring that you don’t just have access to the best in class authoring tools but also DRM protection to your copyrighted content. While there are several ePUB DRMs available in the market, here we will look at the three most popular solutions.
KITABOO
KITABOO is a powerful ePUB DRM allowing publishers to create and distribute their eBooks and files worldwide with complete copyright protection. Some of the world’s most reputed publishing houses and corporate organizations are using KITABOO to create and deliver interactive multimedia content with DRM protection on all device types including mobile. The platform allows you to create a virtual environment to store and share all your eBooks and digital files. Readers who purchase your content can download it for offline reading. However, since the content is DRM-protected they cannot copy-paste or print text to share with others. With KITABOO, you can create your own branded reader app on PC/Mac, iPad and Android for direct distribution.
This ePUB DRM software can seamlessly be integrated with an existing LMS using LTI standards. KITABOO is DRM-protected implying that it encrypts your digital content and makes it available to your intended audience with unique access codes. You can also integrate the KITABOO SDK/API to your website and distribute your content on all types of reading devices including tablets and smartphones. You can also monitor and control who and how many times someone views your content. To further increase your ROI, you can create your own web store and provide authorized access to libraries and educational institutions.
SkyEpub SDK
SkyEpub SDK is an ePUB DRM encompassing a host of APIs used by several eBook publishers and organizations around the world. This platform allows creation of responsive content that is supported on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and Web environments. You can create content in the reflowable and fixed format and add other features such as audio, video, text to speech, and media overlay. It also supports almost all languages in the world, including left to right such as English, German and French, and right to left such as Persian, Arab, and Hebrew. This ePUB DRM platform also supports dynamic content based on HTML5 or CSS3. Double pages view for tablet devices is supported in landscape mode. It also includes text highlights and as well as more natural page-turning effects like slide and curling. SkyEpub is DRM-protected implying that you can create, modify and secure your content for safe distribution on the online media.
Related read: How to Create a DRM Protected eBook and Distribute it Securely
Verimatrix
This is another secure and scalable ePUB DRM that allows you to author highly interactive digital content and protect it at every stage of the workflow. As with other ePUB solutions, you can create both fixed layout and reflowable format content. It is integrated with multi-DRM allowing you add robust security to your digital files without detracting from the user experience.
Conclusion
Digital publishers have much to gain from the online platform. The Internet allows you to easily publish your content, scale your business, reach an extended audience beyond boundaries and sell your content at no extra charges. There are several online publishing formats you can choose to author your content, the most popular is the ePUB software, the latest version of the industry-standard XML eBook format encapsulating both HTML 5 and CSS3. While ePUB makes publishing interactive content a breeze, there is also a need to protect your intellectual property rights and earn revenue for your online sales. Most ePUB solutions are now DRM-protected to ensure that you retain complete control over your content and prevent its unauthorized access. There are several ePUB DRM solutions available in the market. You may need to do some research to find one that is suitable for your requirements.
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Mike Harman
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