Apple won’t keep iBooks Author distribution rights

Pale-faced writers everywhere, rejoice! Apple’s new publishing tool won’t lock down your great works

Apple’s newiBooks AuthorEnd User Licensing Agreement has one tiny make-or-break detail in it – Cupertino only wants to keep the exclusive rights to iBook files and not the content that’s in them.

Why so generous? Well, it was looking like authors and publishers weren’t so keen on signing away all their distribution rights (read: future cash) to Apple just because they used the writing and e-publishing tool to make the textbook in the first place. So Apple didn’t really have a choice.

And while Apple’s notorious for making (beautiful) closed systems to maximise profits, it seems that telling writers they could only make money from their own work by giving Apple a cut was a step too far. What’s next – Newsstand mutiny? Rogue App Stores?

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Dan is Editor-in-chief of Stuff, working across the magazine and the Stuff.tv website. 

Our Editor-in-Chief is a regular at tech shows such as CES in Las Vegas, IFA in Berlin and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as well as at other launches and events. He has been a CES Innovation Awards judge.

Dan is completely platform agnostic and very at home using and writing about Windows, macOS, Android and iOS/iPadOS plus lots and lots of gadgets including audio and smart home gear, laptops and smartphones.

He’s also been interviewed and quoted in a wide variety of places including The Sun, BBC World Service, BBC News Online, BBC Radio 5Live, BBC Radio 4, Sky News Radio and BBC Local Radio.

Computing, mobile, audio, smart home