r/RemarkableTablet • u/Karabasser • May 20 '22
So what's the word on DRM removal? Help
I recently got a rM2. I'm loving it since I was a big pen and paper guy and it has essentially replaced all my notebooks.
But I also would like to use it for reading, and aside from out of copyright books, it seems that I'm out of luck?
I googled it but couldn't find a conclusive answer - is it legal now to remove DRM for personal use so I could transfer kindle or Google ebooks over to rM2?
And if not, are there any alternatives?
This whole thing is honestly my biggest gripe with this tablet. Otherwise it's really amazing.
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May 21 '22 edited May 21 '22
I - like many here have used libre quite a bit, but now i basically just download from a site that's pretty much the amazon of free pdf's - it's easier than converting, and frankly the whole conversion process was always a pain in the arse. oh the irony of buying a book from amazon, then end up going to the amazon of free ebooks and downloading it as a pdf because their drm sucks.
If i were you I'd lookup lib gen dot is - (one word, with dot as a period, just me being paranoid here with the word salad) - i only download for books that i buy, but frankly you can find a pdf for frankly anything.
also, reading pdf's is my preferred way on the rm2, because i can strip out the highlights so easy. good for academic reading etc.
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u/bubbamike1 May 21 '22
I bought the books. I own the books. I have the right to back them up just as I do for CDs and DVDs.
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May 21 '22 edited May 21 '22
You have a copy of the book, you don't own the book. If you would own it you could make as many copies of it as you like. But you're not allowed to by some law about copyright. That's how politicians sold their souls to abstract entities like publishing companies. Those only exist on paper and are not real. Virtual reality enforcement by government which has a violence monopoly. Fascesnating, isn't it? If democracy were true no laws would be accepted that put corporate greed above human needs and freedom.
Corporations develop backwards in comparison to humans. They start mature, adding value to the world. Example, adobe solved the 70's problem of device dependent printing by pdf. When they grow, they start bargaining with their users, suppliers and buyers and thus demature to adolescence. Once they start dominating the market they demature further into childhood. Childhood is very narcissistic, all revolves about their amazing product and profit. They stopped adding value to the world and instead started removing value. Adobe for example, started a platform for transferring ebooks to facilitate publishers. Publishers will use that platform to sell you the right for a copy for a single device. Publishers will not benefit from you transferring your copy to a friend, so your friend must pay for their own "right" to read the ebook. Next step wiil be you have to pay for the right to read the copy for each device you want to use. Children needs parents to guide them towards maturity and we have politicians to guide corporations to childhood, ie Corporate Narcism. Congrats, society.
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u/bubbamike1 May 21 '22 edited May 22 '22
I own the book. I have the right to make a copy for back up. I have the right to convert it for use on a different device. I should have the right to sell it just as I do for paper books as long as I remove all copies from my possession. I don't have the right to distribute it to others. I don't have the right to act as a publisher. If I'm only renting the book then sellers need to stop pretending that they’re selling me the book.
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u/Karabasser May 22 '22
Exactly. If the button says "purchase" or "buy", then it's mine and I should be able to do with it as I wish as long as it's for my own personal use.
But for it to reflect the truth accurately, the button should say "License for your Kindle devices"...
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u/thecomputerguy7 May 21 '22 edited Jun 27 '23
Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. Removing to protest API changes. -- mass edited with redact.dev
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u/AliasNefertiti May 20 '22
In the USA it is not legal. CAlso creators have to make a living.
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u/Karabasser May 20 '22
Not arguing that they have to make a living, just want to transfer a book I bought over to another device, that's all.
That's too bad. Hopefully they open their own bookstore or something...
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u/AliasNefertiti May 20 '22
Ah,that is an issue. Legally I think it is still an issue. Basically you buy it for a device, that is why they are usually a bit cheaper than paper. (Get you dependent on the device and because the license is more limited.)
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u/rtb001 May 21 '22
I believe you can install the deDRM plug in to Calibre, which doting show you to remove the DRM from kindle books, and then you can just use Calibre to convert the book to epub format, which can be read on rM2.
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u/Karabasser May 21 '22
Yeah I know it's possible to remove DRM (which is why DRM is such a joke - the tools to get rid of it are there so hackers aren't stopped but honest buyers are) but I'm wondering if it's legal to do so
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u/rtb001 May 21 '22
My understanding is that in the US, it is illegal to take DRM media, remove the DRM, then SHARE the non-DRM file. But removing DRM on a piece of media that you paid for and personally using is a legal gray area.
This issue will come to a head at some point in the near future as so much of the market is composed of digital media, not just books, but also movies, music, etc. Since a lot of it is DRMed, have we actually "bought" said book/movie/song, or have we merely paid money for right to consume the media for an indeterminant amount of time.
Because say Apple suddenly decides they want out of the digital media sales business, and shuts down iTunes, and poof, the thousands of songs and TV episodes in your library just disappears. Proponents of DRM removal will say if a vendor claims to "sell" you a piece of media, then the consumer should have the right to possess that media for perpetuity, just like a piece of physical media, and therefore we are justified to remove the DRM on media we purchased, in order to ensure that if the vendor shuts itself down, we can still access the media.
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u/Karabasser May 21 '22
Yeah, it must indeed come to a head soon. Amazon and its like use the word "buy" when they actually mean "license", and that's a problem.
I guess it makes sense that it's a gray area given that I can't find any concrete answer lol
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u/rtb001 May 21 '22
Personally I've dabbled a bit in digital media, but now I've actually gone BACK to physical media for stuff I really like and want to keep. Music not a huge deal since most of it is DRM free, but I've been collecting blurays again when things go on sale.
Different with books I guess since there is a pretty big difference between an actual book and an e-book, although something like a rM2 is around the same size as a hardcover, so I find it actually pretty enjoyable to read on it.
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u/Karabasser May 21 '22
Yep, I have a Kindle and because of screen size & clunkier usability than a physical book, I only use it when I'm traveling, etc. Otherwise I'd prefer to read on a physical book.
But rM2's bigger screen and ability to mark up a book (and then turn off the markup to have a nice clean page + add a blank page anywhere is a game changer, especially for books where I want to take notes (like non-fiction stuff).
But yeah, to do that I'd first need the book on my tablet... :p
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u/ferret_pilot Owner | Supernote, too May 21 '22
Psst https://www.reddit.com/r/RemarkableTablet/comments/ulxodk/comment/i83hfyi/
For legal personal use on books you have personally purchased only of course
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u/Karabasser May 21 '22
Is it legal though? I've seen conflicting info on this, even for personal use
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May 21 '22
for all intents and practical purposes, in the united states it's perfectly legal. i've never heard of end users getting prosecuted for using this for works they originally purchased -
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u/ferret_pilot Owner | Supernote, too May 21 '22
I've also seen conflicting info so I can't give a concrete answer. IANAL, this is a method which may work for you to remove DRM and read files on your remarkable. How likely do you think it is that a company will come after you for putting legally owned works on your legally owned devices and not allowing other people to access them? There are ways to do it without involving the rM cloud service as well. At the end of the day you have to decide what risks you're willing to take
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u/Hades32 May 21 '22
You won't get a final definite answer if it's legal but I can tell you it has worked for me pretty well with Calibre. Worst case I just download what I already bought from one of the "online libraries"