I created an iBook using iBooks Author that works great on the iPad. I now need to convert that file so it can be read on different devices like the Kindle and Nook. I've been messing around with "Calibre" but it won't let me select my .ibooks file I get when I published my iBook, so I can convert it. I was wondering if anyone knew of a way to take a .ibooks file and convert it to an ePub file. Thanks.
iBook
iBA puts out a hybrid e-pub.
I don't think anyone has come up with a simple conversion process...yet.
Use Pages, and copy/paste your content there, then massage as needed and use it and calibre.
If you need to output a standard epub, it might be best to author in Pages next time, then move that as a fork to iBA if desired.
If your book is layout sensitive (i.e. fixed layout) then that may be what's causing you problems as you try and convert it to a flowable layout (for reading on a Kindle).
Book Creator for iPad will generate a general ePub format (ePub 3) book. That might help?
This is a kluge.
Apple allow free use of iBooks Author to create book for their iBooks Store. Selling via any other publishers is not allowed under the Terms and Conditions you agreed when you downloaded and installed iBooks Author.
vinnyvg wrote:
Selling via any other publishers is not allowed
That is only true for .ibooks format. There are no restrictions on selling in other formats.
Seems Apple never thought about that option!
vinnyvg wrote:
Seems Apple never thought about that option!
It's all written down in iBooks Author > About iBooks Author > License Agreement > 2B
This is highly unlikely. Apple has very bright people working in the iBook area. And, it has very aggressivce, we would say overly aggressive, attorneys who have written licensing language for iBook Author and the iBookstore distribution agreement screws down how its proprietary iBook file format can be used.
To back up the language in its agreements, iBook Author does not have the ability to export in ePub or MOBI formats. MOBI is understadable, iPub is not.
The problem is that for us and many other authors, layout is extremely important. iBook Author is a very rudimentary layout program that is not capable of producing more advanced layouts such as can be produced with Adobe InDesign. In fact, layouts with both iBook Author and Pages 4 and 5.2 reqruire a considerable amount of tedious work.
Worse, Pages 5.2 is so full of bugs that it is not ready for commercial use. So far as we have been able to determine, Pages 4 files cannot be read by iBook Author. Same with ePub files. Consequently, it is necessary to make large investments in two layouts, one for iBook and one for ePub, MOBI and printed publications. Apple has made this particular area very costly.
In our case, the effort is not worth the cost. The reason is that Amazon has by far the world's largest ebook distribution capability and share of market. The business arragements for retail distribution at Amazon are simple compared to Apple's iBookstore and publishing processes. Consequently, author's need to think very seriously about publising commerical works via iBooks and the Apple iBookstore. Particularly in light of the possibility for copyright disputes.
The really seriouis issue for authors is whether Apple can argue any claims to exclusivity with respect to your copyrights contained in iBook content. Our attorneys tell us there is enough ambiguity about this area that it may require authors to be prepared for a court fight with Apple. That is unacceptable, and we believe attorneys for Apple have far over reached in this area. For this reason, we have decided not to publish any content that we wish to publish in multiple formats, e.g., ePub and MOBI, in iBook format on the Apple iBookstore.
Private distribution is another matter. You can export iBooks from within iBook Author. iBooks exported in this way can be distributed and read on iPads and computers runing the iBooks app. What you cannot do is to sell them. That restriction is contained in the agreement.
Finally, we can find no app that will decrypt iBooks into ePubs. There are apps for converting ePubs to MOBI. The leader is Calibre. Calibre can convert a number of formats back and forth. Calibre also has robust features for addiing meta data. Several DRM ripper apps can convert MOBI to ePub and PDF.
There also are no apps that can create the equivalent of widgets in iBooks to ePub and MOBI formats. That is a bit much to expect.
Of all the many issues and problems with Pages 5.2, the lack of a feature to convert investments in Pages layouts to iBook format through iBook Author is truly the most amazing. Same goes for exporting from iBooks Author to Pages. Duplicate investments are required. Pages and iBooks Author have similar UIs and operate generally in the same way. This would imply that Apple is using a common core file structure, most likely base the international ePub standard. I
It appears to us that someone at Apple has made a conscious decision not to allow Pages documents to be read by iPub Author and vice versa. Same goes with export and import of international standard iPub files.
Once gain and as with the issues in Pages 5.2 and the intellectual property isses in iBooks publishing agreements, it appears no one at Apple thought about what customers might be doing with Pages and what they might want to do with iBooks author.
And, of course, class action litigation against Apple over its "agency model" have complicated things even more. The risk now is that Apple is now in a positoin to drop the retail price of an iBook to $.01, and authors have no control over this. If they did, then authors and Apple would be in violation of the Robinson Patman Act. Amazon and any other distributor of digital books also can drop prices out from under authors.
All of this sets up a potentially difficult dilemma for authors in iBook publishig via Apple.
I hope this is helpful.
no time flat wrote:
The really seriouis issue for authors is whether Apple can argue any claims to exclusivity with respect to your copyrights contained in iBook content. Our attorneys tell us there is enough ambiguity about this area that it may require authors to be prepared for a court fight with Apple.
Interesting! I have not heard of anyone else currently holding that view, much less any author who has ever faced such a challenge. Apple revised its license back in early 2012 to meet some concerns about this, as reported e.g. here
and of course everyone can view it for themselves in the app.
"You retain all your rights in the content of your works, and you may distribute such content by any means when it does not include files in the .ibooks format generated by iBooks Author. "
Assume you were an aggressive litigatgor. How would you argue the following, "when it does not include files in the .ibooks format generated by iBooks Author."?
The matter of rights is further complicated by Apple's agreements with so-called aggregators and the agreements between aggregators and authors. And, there are a number of actions working their way up through the courts. In the US, judicial precedent is critically important. Courts rule on and resolve ambiguities how black letter law should apply to a specific set of facts and circumstances. Those rulings give rise to case law. Case law has the same effect as black letter law. Think Brown v. Board of Education.
From a business perspective, we think that while fundamentally important, copyright issues are less important than the vulnerability to having outfits like Apple and Amazon arbitrarily destory the retail price of a work. Why would this happen? Think special promotions and sales, which are common to evey area of retailing.
In this specific area, class actions by consumers against Apple have worked directly cross purposes of authors. Consumers want the cheapest price. Authors want the value of their intellectual property protected. In any publicaion sold in public markets these are bundled with publishing and distribution costs. Since there the marginal costs are cents on the dollar and there is little to no investment in inventory in digital publishing, retail outlets like Apple and Amazon can drop prices to $.01 and not suffer any consequences as a practical matter. Under US antitrust laws, there is nothing an author or publisher can do about this.
That brings us back to every kind of protection. The most fundamental, of course, is copyright protection.
My point is anyone who is in the digital book publishing business and any author considering digital publishing must be very, very careful.
I hope this is helpful.
no time flat wrote:
My point is anyone who is in the digital book publishing business and any author considering digital publishing must be very, very careful.
I think the concerns about copyright and pricing are vastly exaggerated, at least as they relate to iBooks Author and the iBookstore.
It seems much more likely to me that ebook DRM could disappear under pressure from consumers. I am curious what your views on that would be.
From a business perspective of an author and publisher, the digital publishing industry is a wild west show right now. Virtually nothing is safe. I have found a number of apps that rip DRM from files, including MOBI. PDF rippers have been around for a long time.
IBooks are safer, but iBooks represent a very small share of the market. When this changes, iBook DRM protection will not last.
Remember, the burden of proof is on the copyright owner to prove infringement. That takes time, and in some markets and legal jurisdictions there are large numbers of predators and essentially no courts. China is at the top of the list.
What this means is if you have IP that becomes populat, it will be ripped off. iBooks included.
Cool for customers. Very bad for authors and publishers.
I do not really think that copyright and Apple is an issue likely to affect the self publisher using iBooks Author.
Maybe its an over simplistic opinion, but so far.... and who know's how many books created using iBA being in the store, there are no reports of issues hitting litigation and none from users complaining their book(s) were pulled due to content being referred to Apple as an infringment.
Back to the thread starter and my comment with regard using iBA to "convert" into other formats.
B. Distribution of Works Generated Using the iBooks Author Software. As a condition of this License and provided you are in compliance with its terms, works generated using iBooks Author may be distributed as follows:
ℹ if the work is provided for free (at no charge), you may distribute it by any means;
(ii) if the work is provided for a fee (including as part of any subscription-based product or service) and includes files in the .ibooks format generated using iBooks Author, the work may only be distributed through Apple, and such distribution will be subject to a separate written agreement with Apple (or an Apple affiliate or subsidiary); provided, however, that this restriction will not apply to the content of the work when distributed in a form that does not include files in the .ibooks format generated using iBooks Author. You retain all your rights in the content of your works, and you may distribute such content by any means when it does not include files in the .ibooks format generated by iBooks Author.
Looking at this I ( again) took the simplistic route and looked at the "catch all" wording and interepation.
Apple decree: Works Generated Using the iBooks Author Software.
Why not eBooks Generated Using the iBooks Author Software ?
By using "Works" - it opens a barn door of interpretation.
Also, however, that this restriction will not apply to the content of the work when distributed in a form that does not include files in the .ibooks format generated using iBooks Author.
If a "work" is created using iBA - by default any conversion is starting with " files created by iBA" and after conversion - they are still in full or part - " files created by iBA".
The above as been my understanding from day one and the basis of my responce above.
vinnyvg wrote:
If a "work" is created using iBA - by default any conversion is starting with " files created by iBA" and after conversion - they are still in full or part - " files created by iBA".
But they are not "files in the .ibooks format". Do you not think that matters? Is it really your view that your iBA project exported to .pdf format cannot be sold except though Apple? I think that would defy common sense.
Tom, I am not saying anything about exporting PDFs or the text option or inded .ibooks - each is a legitimate option.
Also, however, that this restriction will not apply to the content of the work when distributed in a form that does not include files in the .ibooks format generated using iBooks Author.
As I wrote if the original was created using iBA - any conversion from those files...will still contain - "files generated using iBooks Author" and such a "work" used elsewhere other than the iBooks store, could be deemed an infringement of the T and C.
Show me any contract or software licence terms that does not defy common sence!
Apple and other mega companies create contracts and terms of use as if they were only dealing with MS, Samsung et al - the rest of we lesser mortals scrabbling around at the bottom of the barrel are not likely ever to face any litigation from Apple. BUT if Samsung or MS was found to be re-working or converting .ibooks created usingiBA - and offering such products for sale - then this is when such ambigious ( to us) definintions and clause can be brought into play.
I use two USA based online "print on demand" websites to offer printed Tee shirts, Mugs etc,. One asked from the onset that they required a W8-BEN submitting, the other has happily been sending my commission to PayPal without any tax form requirements until a few weeks ago.... then they to required a W8-BEN.
I enquired if my EIN would be a better option.... reply was, submit only w W8-BEN.
So another Apple requirement seems to "defy common sence". All three generate income from a USA source paid to a none USA resident.
Apple will always do things there way - even if they defy common sence.
vinnyvg wrote:
As I wrote if the original was created using iBA - any conversion from those files...will still contain - "files generated using iBooks Author" and such a "work" used elsewhere other than the iBooks store, could be deemed an infringement of the T and C.
But the phrase you quote there is not correct. The license says "files in the .books format generated using iBooks Author." Why do you omit that? Do you really think it makes no difference? How can a .pdf format version be legitimate when you read the license that way?
Convert .ibooks file to epub file to be read on Kindle, Nook, etc.
