January 21, 2012

“Better Read That Contract, Mister I-Wanna-Be-In-The-iBooks Store”

Apple has just released its long-awaited iBooks Author, its application to convert a text file into an ebook suitable for sale in the iBooks Store.

But, according to our friends at venomous porridge, you should read your End-User License Agreement (EULA) very carefully before you download the application, because Apple demands control over what you do with your ebook after you’ve created it.

Except that you can’t read the EULA, because it’s part of the app itself— you can’t read it before you download it, because it’s part of what you download, and then once you’ve downloaded it, it says that by agreeing to download the software, you’ve agreed to the EULA.

Wow. Is that sneaky or what?

Here’s the crucial piece of the contract.

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.

In other words, if you use Apple’s software to create your ebooks, and you’re not giving it away for free, you’re required to distribute your ebook only through the iBooks Store, unless you make a separate agreement with Apple. (And I wish you the very best of luck with that.)

This is like Microsoft claiming control of any text you make with Word. Or Apple claiming control of anything written with Scrivener. Or Sun Microsystems claiming an interest in any program you might write with Java.

Now you pay for those programs, and iBooks Author is free, so Apple’s Robot Legion of Defenders are sure to point out Apple can attach whatever conditions it wants. And that is true, although sticking the key provisions of the EULA in the download itself strikes me as unethical, and (though I am not an attorney, and you should consult an attorney before et cetera) is probably unenforceable.

And I should make it clear that Apple is not claiming the copyright. You are free to use other software to convert your file to ebooks that you can sell elsewhere, and which don’t come with restrictions about where you can sell them. Which makes iBooks Author less useful than software already on the market— though if you want to upload directly into the iBooks Store, rather than through a third-party middle man like Smashwords, you’re kinda stuck with iBooks Author.

Now Apple has always been insistent on controlling anything that can run on their computers. But they’ve never claimed to control the user’s stuff before.

So what it boils down to is that Apple is evil. They want to own everything, just like Amazon or Barnes & Noble or any of those guys. You should be careful around them. Read the fine print.