Image courtesy of Carrypad
I’m a huge fan of eBooks. I’ve been reading them since the Peanut Press days, I have gone on at length about the strengths and weaknesses that I’ve found in the various software eBook readers currently available, and I’ve reviewed a number of “enhanced books” right here for y’all. I haven’t read more than one or two hardcopy books per year in the last several years. I love eBooks.
I think Apple’s iBooks app is pretty decent, all things considered. As I ranted on at length about, I think there’s a lot of things to be modified, but it’s a good first effort. So I was reasonably excited to hear about Apple releasing their iBooks toolkit, iBooks Author. Like a lot of tech writers, I’m a frustrated novelist currently working on a novel, and as a huge eBook fan, I want it in eBook format. (I’m not about to pull a J.K. Rowling on my non-existent fans.) So I was absolutely stonkered by a post from ZDNet that dug into the iBooks Author End User License Agreement (EULA–that unbelievably long thing that pops up before you can complete installation of a program where you never read it and just click the box next to “Accept”). What they found left me (and your other Gear Diary stalwarts) the IM-equivalent of slack-jawed. ZDNet writes (I apologize for the length of the quote, but it’s worth it, believe me):
I’ve downloaded the software and had a chance to skim the EULA. Much of it is boilerplate, but I’ve read and re-read Section 2B, and it does indeed go far beyond any license agreement I’ve ever seen:
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.And then the next paragraph is bold-faced, just so you don’t miss it:
Apple will not be responsible for any costs, expenses, damages, losses (including
without limitation lost business opportunities or lost profits) or other liabilities you may incur as a result of your use of this Apple Software, including without limitation the fact that your Work may not be selected for distribution by Apple.The nightmare scenario under this agreement? You create a great work of staggering literary genius that you think you can sell for 5 or 10 bucks per copy. You craft it carefully in iBooks Author. You submit it to Apple. They reject it.
Under this license agreement, you are out of luck. They won’t sell it, and you can’t legally sell it elsewhere.
This is not unlike IBM demanding a cut of every book you sell, should you happen to have used a Selectric to type it on. (ZDNet’s comparison with Powerpoint is also apt, I believe.) It’s been clear for a while that Apple has been trying to leverage their tremendous advantage in the handheld and tablet markets into a club to wield over the “middle-men” between content providers and consumers–publishers, record companies, and the like. This, however; this is Apple saying, “Use our program, and we get a cut of anything you sell that you developed with our software forever.” This is Apple going after the content providers themselves, just for the privilege of using their software to create their content. It’s obnoxious. It’s a naked power grab. And I find it doubly-obnoxious that they’re hiding it deep in an EULA for a piece of “free” software. (Pretty clear why they’re not charging for the software, isn’t it? Once you use it, they’ve got you for life!)
Now, I’ve never been an Apple fanboy. I like Apple products, I think they make great design decisions, but they’re still a giant, multinational company. And giant, multinational companies don’t have a conscience or a heart; they just want a profit. This is Apple going after that profit, but I think they’ve jumped the shark on what people will accept. What do you think? Tell us below.