Sony to Adopt EPUB E-book Format, Ditch In-house DRM

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 13, 2009 - 3:54am.

San Diego - Sony (NYSE: SNE) announced on Thursday that it will convert its eBook store to the industry-standard EPUB format by the end of the year, and do away with proprietary copy-protection software in favor of a more versatile content server from Adobe.

The move "allows Sony to make its eBook store compatible with multiple devices and its Reader devices open to multiple sources for content."

The EPUB format has been adopted by over 60 companies, and is used by publishers including Random House and HarperCollins to distribute e-books.

"A world of proprietary formats and DRMs creates silos and limits overall market growth," said Steve Haber, president of Sony's digital reading business division.

"Consumers should not have to worry about which device works with which store. With a common format and common content protection solution (DRM), they will be able to shop around for the content they want regardless of where they get it or what device they use."

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/pt239

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/technology/internet/13reader.html

http://ebookstore.sony.com