Apple's eBook Agency Agreement in Plain English
May 25, 2012 4:16 PM Subscribe
Trouble understanding Apple's eBook Agency Agreement for the iBookstore
I've been Googling my hair out, and all search results seem to collide with articles about iBooks Author, which I'm not using. I've signed up to sell books on the iBookstore, and have tried to understand the agreement, but I still have some fundamental questions unanswered.
Can I use KDP Select? - According to the agreement, all new eBook releases have to come out at the same time on the iBookstore as other sites. If so, can I even use KDP Select for some of my releases, which require exclusivity?
Can I offer an eBook for free? - If my iBooks price has to be the lowest available eBook price, can I give away a PDF copy of my eBook on my website?
Is there a plain-english translation for the agreement? - I create iPhone apps, and it was really easy to find tech websites that parsed the App Store agreement and told you what the bottom line was with the finer points of Apple's legalese. Is there something like this for the iBookstore?
Am I even allowed to talk about this agreement? - One bit of legalese said I couldn't talk about the agreement, or maybe it meant I couldn't copy and paste it anywhere. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to contact them directly about these questions, nor can I find a forum to hash these things out, so Ask MeFi, you're my only hope.
I'm almost tempted to realize that the bigger picture conclusion is I shouldn't be dealing with Apple on this in the first place.
I've been Googling my hair out, and all search results seem to collide with articles about iBooks Author, which I'm not using. I've signed up to sell books on the iBookstore, and have tried to understand the agreement, but I still have some fundamental questions unanswered.
Can I use KDP Select? - According to the agreement, all new eBook releases have to come out at the same time on the iBookstore as other sites. If so, can I even use KDP Select for some of my releases, which require exclusivity?
Can I offer an eBook for free? - If my iBooks price has to be the lowest available eBook price, can I give away a PDF copy of my eBook on my website?
Is there a plain-english translation for the agreement? - I create iPhone apps, and it was really easy to find tech websites that parsed the App Store agreement and told you what the bottom line was with the finer points of Apple's legalese. Is there something like this for the iBookstore?
Am I even allowed to talk about this agreement? - One bit of legalese said I couldn't talk about the agreement, or maybe it meant I couldn't copy and paste it anywhere. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to contact them directly about these questions, nor can I find a forum to hash these things out, so Ask MeFi, you're my only hope.
I'm almost tempted to realize that the bigger picture conclusion is I shouldn't be dealing with Apple on this in the first place.
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