Apple’s iBooks copy protection cracked
Added by Nigel Shelbourne on February 27, 2012
A post on a forum that says it is a resource for mobile users seeking information and advice for keeping their devices happy, says “It is now possible to remove the DRM from epub books bought in Apple’s iBooks store”.
Users that buy or download digital books through Apple’s iBookStore can only use them on Apple’s iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch devices because the files in which the digital books are stored are protected by Digital Rights Management (DRM) – access controls that limit how digital content may be used by end-users. In 1998 the US passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that imposes criminal penalties on those that make available technologies that circumvent content protection technologies like DRM.
Apple created a DRM technology called FairPlay and had used it to protect music bought through its iTunes store. FairPlay prevents users from playing music copied from unauthorized computers or devices. As a result of public pressure Apple removed FairPlay DRM from all music tracks sold through iTunes as of January 6, 2009; however, movies, books, and television programs continue to have FairPlay DRM applied to them.
End users may be able to remove FairPlay DRM using a utility called “Requiem”, initially created in 2008 by “Brahms”. “Requiem” allows a person that owns an iBooks digital book to remove the digital protection imposed by FairPlay DRM; users might then be able to read the purchased books on devices like Amazon’s Kindle, or Barnes and Noble’s Nook.
Apple sold more than 15m iPads in the last quarter of 2011, and publishers are slowly increasing the number of books available through the iBooks store; however, “Requiem” may change their plans.