Measures being taken against iBookstore piracy

Feb 16, 2010 07:39 GMT  ·  By

The LA Times has gained knowledge that Apple will employ the FairPlay digital rights management system to protect iBookstore content from being pirated. Alongside the iPad announcement last month, Apple also announced the new iBooks app for iPad, which includes its new iBookstore. Apple hopes it will turn out to be the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile device.

The paper notes that, “Veteran iTunes customers will recognize the locks as FairPlay, a digital rights management piece of software that once limited how many times digital songs could be copied onto different computers (Apple phased out FairPlay a year ago, and now sells unfettered tunes.) Next month, Apple will be dusting off those digital cuffs for books, according to sources in the publishing industry.”

Apple revealed last month that the iBookstore would feature books from major and independent publishers. These publishers will have to agree to the DRM system Apple is setting in place, but most of them are believed to have already accepted. The iBookstore will be available in the US at the same time the iPad will be released to the public.

The iPad, although not striking anyone as a revolutionary device, is considered to be a game changer. The device will also be deployed in educational facilities in the nearby future, thanks to a deal Apple signed with McGraw-Hill.

In a January interview with CNBC, McGraw-Hill’s CEO, Terry McGraw, said the company had been working closely with Apple for “quite a while,” preparing 95% of its textbooks for the tablet device the Mac maker was to unveil within a few hours. Publishing mogul Terry McGraw spilled the beans over the operating system employed by the Apple tablet, and that it would be a runaway hit in the higher education market.