Apple Says You Can Only Sell Content Created With iBooks Author Through Them

POST

MAIL

Posted January 20, 2012 at 2:33am by iClarified

Apple's end user license agreement for iBooks Author says you can't sell or distribute any content created by the software through anything but Apple outlets, reports Venomous Porridge.

Apple, in this EULA, is claiming a right not just to its software, but to its software's output. It's akin to Microsoft trying to restrict what people can do with Word documents, or Adobe declaring that if you use Photoshop to export a JPEG, you can't freely sell it to Getty. As far as I know, in the consumer software industry, this practice is unprecedented. I'm sure it's commonplace with enterprise software, but the difference is that those contracts are negotiated by corporate legal departments and signed the old-fashioned way, with pen and ink and penalties and termination clauses. A by-using-you-agree-to license that oh by the way asserts rights over a file format? Unheard of, in my experience.

Here's the part of EULA that deals with this. Note that when installing the software you reportedly aren't asked to agree to this; rather, your use of the software binds you to the agreement.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
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.

Section 2:
B. Distribution of your Work. As a condition of this License and provided you are in compliance with its terms, your Work may be distributed as follows:
(i) if your Work is provided for free (at no charge), you may distribute the Work by any available means;
(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.

What do you think? Gruber calls this 'Apple at its worst'. Is it right for Apple to require that you only sell content produced using its free app in its store?

Read More [via DaringFireball]

Apple Says You Can Only Sell Content Created With iBooks Author Through Them

Follow iClarified

Joseph - January 20, 2012 at 11:07pm

Think about it this way: Photoshop (not free) - Anything you make is distributed as you please, whether for profit or not, because you spent the money to buy that program. Word/PowerPoint/etc... (not free) - Anything you make is distributed as you please, whether for profit or not, because you spent the money to buy that program. iBooks Author (free) - Anything you make can only be distributed under Apple's terms, since you didn't pay anything for the program to make it. Makes sense to me.

Reply · Like

Tim - January 20, 2012 at 1:14pm

From what I can tell. The iPads can be owned by the school or the student. Also, the books can also be purchased by the school through redemption codes so that the student may buy/own an iPad and the school buys the book. Well we can only hope that schools go this route. Well unless the government agrees to lower our school taxes. :)

Steve - January 20, 2012 at 11:11am

Adobe charge for photoshop, Microsoft charge for word. Apples iBooks created is free. Bad examples given in article.

Simon Robins - January 20, 2012 at 10:49am

The headline isn't totally accurate. You can sell the content elsewhere, you just can't sell the ibooks output from iBook Author containing that content elsewhere.

Beta - January 20, 2012 at 8:55am

Can the books produced by this software be read on any other hardware/platform that the iPad/iBooks? If not this is similar to xcode and iOs apps. The difference is you can also create mac apps on xcode and sell them anywere.

EthAn - January 20, 2012 at 4:54am

I honestly don't think this is a bad decision by Apple. From a corporate standpoint maybe. But being a student who has purchased these text books, I'll tell u right now that their 14.99 top price for a text book is awesome. And I think that's all they are trying to preserve by not allowing you to distribute to other companies. Free is fine with them because that's really not interfeering with the shift they are trying to make in the education industry. I think apple has once again done a great thing. It's about time someone starts to change the way children, teenagers and young adults learn. Everything else so far is out dated.

merliner - January 20, 2012 at 9:24am

for $15/ibk, no kids should be left behind. yea the ipads will cost $500, but schools will buy them in bulk(-$). i do agree with jobs that the edusys is a scam ripe with bureaucracy-therefore, corruption. jobs brainwashed-i mean made- the edu publishing entities realize that they're not actually helping kids- but themselves- by charging $150(sarcasm). in return for lowering their prices to $15, apple granted them semi-nopoly (not an actual word, is it?) by demanding that any WORK created with ibooks2 gets channeled through apple. heck, with this act ($15/ibook), schools will have extra money to hire more teachers. are the teachers getting paid too much? that's another topic.