Ebook DRM free, who are together with Tor?

When the first eBook came into being in the 1970s, no one had ever forecasted that so many changes would happen on it. From the initial typing-into-computer to Open eBook format, eBook has evolved into a commercial market rather than another form of traditional books. Digital Millennium Copyright Act was passed in 1998 so as to protect the rights and benefits of publishers, copyright holders and individuals. DRM for eBooks was brought up for the protection of people in this field.     

For most readers, the common view is that we respect and back up legal copyright protections. However, why is there no one to give us a hand when we purchased a beloved eBook and found we are not entitled to share it with our family and best friends. DRM is appropriately designed to restrict any forms of duplication,   print and circulation and sharing books with others is an undisputed case.

So the truth is, we obey the rules and purchase DRMed eBooks while we are not allowed to read at liberty. Even if we intend to read a book purchased from amazon store on our Nook Simple Touch, for instance, incompatible formats and Kindle DRM problem would make things tough. Consequently, we spend additional time searching for practical solutions, which makes Calibre famous.

who are together with Tor?
As Tor and Forge Books publicly announced eBooks DRM free this year, readers have paid more attention to the future of eBook DRM. However, it seems that no news has come out from amazon, Barnes & Noble or other related eBook stores by now.
Fortunately, Tor is not alone. Now let's have a look at who are providing DRM free books together with Tor.   

Baen Books

Baen Books is probably the first one who say no to DRM (Digital Rights Management). When the DRM technology started to be adopted in the late 1990s, the founders of Baen Books believe that “DRM does more harm than good to a publisher”. Maybe they concluded this from the angle of audience and kept that if you think of readers, readers would feel it. Actually, we readers greatly appreciate DRM free eBooks.

O'Reilly Media

In June 2011, OverDrive announced that O'Reilly Media would provide DRM-free eBook titles. Its  1,500 eBook titles will be available to OverDrive's channel partners, including those in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and dozens of other territories worldwide.
If you are looking for topics on Programming, JavaScript, iPhone, Android, Python, HTML5 & CSS, Microsoft, Java, Perl, Linux, Data, etc., O’Reilly Media will be an optional choice. O’Reilly DRM free eBooks are available on amazon store at present.

Carina Press

Carina titles have been sold DRM Free in EPUB and PDF formats through their store. They will also be selling through Sony, Books on Board, Fictionwise and others.



Tor and Forge Books

On April 24, 2012, Tom Doherty Associates, publishers of Tor Books and Forge Books, announced that beginning in July, all of its e-books would be sold free of DRM.

On Jun 4, 2012, Fritz Foy, Macmillan EVP  Digital Publishing and Technology, officially announced that a new Tor/Forge DRM-free e-book store will debut here on Tor.com in late summer, 2012.

On Jul 20, 2012, Tom Doherty Associates, publishers of Tor and Forge, is pleased to announce that all of their eBooks are now available DRM-free from Amazon, B&N, Apple, Kobo, Google, and most other major eBook retailers.

“It’s clear to us that this is what our customers want,” said senior editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden. “We see it in the success of SF publishers like Baen and Angry Robot that have preceded us in going DRM-free. To the best of our knowledge we’re the first division of a Big Six publishing conglomerate to go down this road, but we doubt very much that we’ll be the last.”
In fact, there are some other stores sell DRM-free eBooks except above ones. That is similar to many websites that offer free eBooks to audience.

DRM free eBooks on Amazon
Compared with Barnes&Noble, you are able to get more DRM free items from Amazon, some of which are not DRM free eBooks but excerpts or other files. It's likely that if more eBook stores decide to sell DRM-free books, Amazon would not be an exception.

OverDrive
OverDrive, founded in 1986, is based in Cleveland, OH. As a leading digital distributor of eBooks, audiobooks, and other digital content, it delivers secure management, DRM protection and other services for publishers, libraries, schools, and retailers globally. It currently hosts more than 650,000 premium digital titles from more than 1,000 publishers. Its android reading app, OverDrive, has also been proved very helpful.

Carina Press

Baen Books
Baen Books, established in 1983, is an American publishing company aiming at science fiction  and fantasy. According to data from Book Summary, it is likely to belong to the TOP 10 most active publishers of the dedicated SF imprints.

O'Reilly Media
O'Reilly Media, established by Tim O'Reilly in 1978, is an American media company  aiming at books, magazines and Web sites as well as producing conferences on computer technology topics.

Tor and Forge Books
Tor Books, founded in 1980, is a New York-based publisher aiming at science fiction and fantasy titles. Tom Doherty Associates also publishes mainstream fiction, mystery, and occasional military history titles under its Forge imprint. Along with St. Martin's Press, Henry Holt, and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, it is now part of the Holtzbrinck group, now known as Macmillan Publishers. It has won the Locus Magazine poll for best science fiction publisher every year since 1988 and published more award-winning and nominated science fiction books than any other publisher.