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WH Smith putting DRM in books distributed by Kobo

15K views 43 replies 26 participants last post by  Kirkee 
#1 ·
I was happy to see my books in WH Smith's on-line website; but then very unhappy to see that they had installed DRM in my files without my permission.
I hate DRM. I think it is a stupid thing that doesn't work and therefore serves no purpose other than to p*ss off readers and legitimate customers.

To Kobo; please ask W.H. Smith to stop altering my files, otherwise I'll have to pull my books - which I don't want to do - but I will NOT support the use of DRM in any way - least of all in my own content. Further, I do not believe that you or WH Smith have the right to alter my files without my permission.
 
#4 ·
The default stetting at KOBO is to INCLUDE DRM, so when you add your book, almost at the last step you will have an option.  If you don't uncheck the box, you have DRM enabled automatically.  

I have no idea if you can change this once it's set, but this is how you got DRM on your books.
 
#6 ·
JanneCO said:
The default stetting at KOBO is to INCLUDE DRM, so when you add your book, almost at the last step you will have an option. If you don't uncheck the box, you have DRM enabled automatically.

I have no idea if you can change this once it's set, but this is how you got DRM on your books.
Except that I KNOW I clicked "no DRM" when I uploaded. I suspect that if you make any changes - upload a new version, etc, it defaults back to DRM. Which is pretty tricky, because you can make updates on Kobo to one page (and not have to walk through all the menus for the other pages), but apparently it will default to DRM unless you uncheck it with every update.
 
#8 ·
Susan Kaye Quinn said:
Except that I KNOW I clicked "no DRM" when I uploaded. I suspect that if you make any changes - upload a new version, etc, it defaults back to DRM. Which is pretty tricky, because you can make updates on Kobo to one page (and not have to walk through all the menus for the other pages), but apparently it will default to DRM unless you uncheck it with every update.
Yeah, that could be. I barely noticed it myself. I was ready to click submit and then I saw what that little checkbox was actually saying.
 
#10 ·
Susan Kaye Quinn said:
Except that I KNOW I clicked "no DRM" when I uploaded. I suspect that if you make any changes - upload a new version, etc, it defaults back to DRM. Which is pretty tricky, because you can make updates on Kobo to one page (and not have to walk through all the menus for the other pages), but apparently it will default to DRM unless you uncheck it with every update.
This. ANY time you make any change at all, including price, it defaults back to DRM, so you have to manually un-check the box for no DRM. The good news is that unlike Amazon and B&N, you can change it at any time. The bad news is that it always defaults to DRM.
 
#14 ·
After checking with Draft2Digital they confirmed that they specifically request no DRM - so this is something that is happening between KOBO and WH Smith without ANY author's permission. Apart from those who have said they didn't give permission - Hugh Howey and Cory Doctorow, both vocal opponents of DRM have it installed on their books at WH Smith.

Could a Koko representative please comment on where this is happening? Is it on WH Smith? Or on Kobo side?
 
#21 ·
Hildred said:
That is odd. I just checked my books I recently made price changes to and they're all unchecked (as they should be.) For the record, I directly upload.
Yes - all yours have DRM as well - basically, from what I can tell - EVERY book at WH Smith has DRM in it - installed without our permission via Kobo.

And we note that still no Kobo rep has put their head in here.
 
#23 ·
Wow. This is not OK with me.

New addition to my copyright page:

"This file is intended to be distributed DRM-free. Some retailers have taken to violating our wishes and installing DRM on our products. If you have received a version where DRM has been enabled, please email a copy of your receipt to sales@oakenbrand.com and let us know which format you read in. We will send you a proper copy of the file in return. If this happens to you, please consider shopping at a retailer that does not manipulate original files in any way for future ebook purchases. Thank you for supporting our quest to provide you with only the best possible service."
 
#26 ·
I'm no lawyer, but these terms may be pertinent:

Without restricting the generality of the foregoing, Kobo may:

Accept or reject the Works at our discretion,
Copy and store your Works on one or more computers,
Convert, reformat and encode the Works into eBooks and enable and optimize the display of the Works on the eReading Service, provided that Kobo agrees that we shall make no modifications to the substance of the Works and Kobo shall not be responsible for any inaccuracies or errors in conversion or reformatting,
Display, market, transmit, distribute, sell and otherwise digitally make available all or any portion of the Works and the metadata you provide through Kobo Writing Life, for customers and prospective customers to download and/or store, access, copy and paste, print, annotate and/or view online and offline, including on portable devices,
Determine all marketing and promotion of your Works related to their sale on the eReading Service, including by making reasonable excerpts of an eBook available for free as promotional material to encourage users to purchase the eBook,
Elect at our sole discretion to remove any eBook from the eReading Service or reject an eBook that has been submitted by Publisher for sale on Kobo Writing Life, and
Exercise our rights and license set out in these Terms directly and through third party booksellers, retailers, distributors, affiliates and independent contractors.
I guess it could be argued that "convert, reformat, and encode" gives them the right to add DRM. It's not how I would read it, but I can see how it could be open to interpretation. I'm sending them an email anyway. They are usually pretty good about getting back to you, even if their replies rarely make sense.
 
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