Why is iBook store US only?

[sassenach74]

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Not looking for arguments or anything, I genuinely don't know the reasoning......but why is the iBook store US only?
I'm sure it will be available worldwide in time but why can't the same books available to the US be sold elsewhere? Is it an exports/rights issue?
I used to read a lot and I think the iPad will relight my passion for reading again.
Anyone with knowledge on this?

 

[Chundles]

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Not looking for arguments or anything, I genuinely don't know the reasoning......but why is the iBook store US only?
I'm sure it will be available worldwide in time but why can't the same books available to the US be sold elsewhere? Is it an exports/rights issue?
I used to read a lot and I think the iPad will relight my passion for reading again.
Anyone with knowledge on this?

Publishing/distribution is not a global thing, it's done on a country-by-country basis.

It's the same for music which is why there are country specific iTunes Music Stores.

Apps are different, as Apple distributes the apps solely it can open stores in all the countries where the iPhone is sold.

 

[sassenach74]

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Thanks for replying.
So then here in the UK we have to wait for Apple to have agreements in place with UK publishers before we get an iBook store?

 

[Chundles]

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Thanks for replying.
So then here in the UK we have to wait for Apple to have agreements in place with UK publishers before we get an iBook store?

Yep, same down here in Australia.

 

[sassenach74]

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Thanks again.
Have Apple given any indication that they plan to have iBooks worldwide, if so, any idea on timescale?

 

[Chundles]

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Thanks again.
Have Apple given any indication that they plan to have iBooks worldwide, if so, any idea on timescale?

Nope.

They haven't even confirmed price and availability for the iPad outside the US yet. The website says "late March" for the WiFi-only iPad but nothing yet set in stone.

 

[WytRaven]

Nope.

That's not entirely accurate. Steve mentioned in the keynote that they were commencing negotiations for iBooks outside the US that afternoon.

Just because negotiations have begun doesn't mean we will see results anytime soon. We can only hope that international publishing companies see the light on this one, and fast, but I wouldn't be holding my breath.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Just to broaden the concept a bit... all Intellectual Property gives the owner a bundle of rights. An IP owner can license the right to publish in the U.S. to company A, the right to publish in Austria to company B, the worldwide right to the audio book to Company C, etc., etc. If you can think of a way or place to sell the IP that is a separate right that must be negotiated.

That is why all the media in the iTMS comes online on a country-by-country basis, and why not all titles in one country's store are available in another.

 

[cube]

iBook is an old laptop ONLY.

 

[sassenach74]

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iBook is an old laptop ONLY.

Yeah........thanks for the info

 

[fishmoose]

Is it harder for Apple to negotiate book deals or movies/tv-shows? Since movies in the iTunes store are a no go here in Sweden, I wonder if there's any chance of us getting iBook Store. All I know I want an iPad but I want to use it as an e-reader primarily and if no deal can be made there's no point in me buying one.

 

[Sparced]

If you can't buy ebooks and magazines on the iBooks Store I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for is only a google search away.

The question is does the Store app act as the reader, if you import your own files into iTunes where do they go. There's already third party apps that can do the job of managing pdfs on the iPhone but it doesn't seem right to have to wait for Apple to deliver the store to us.

When iTunes didn't sell movies we could still watch ones we have on our iPods. This could different or maybe I'm seeing a problem that wont exist.

 

[MRU]

iBook & its store is not pre-loaded on your iPad.

It will be required to download off the App store.

Apple are still negotiating with publishers in the US, they have not mentioned how or if licensing negotiations have taken place anywhere outside as yet.

Much like how iTunes launched 14 months in the UK later than America, and 19 months in Ireland. For same licensing issues, many features that have been around for a long time (videos / tv / movies etc...) on iTunes in North America are still not available in other countries such as Ireland.

What is surprising is how Amazon have managed to secure global license deals, and can sell me a book in $$ on my Kindle hardware & software in Europe.

I'm hopeful that Apple wake up and see that they really need to get Licensing agreements sorted URGENTLY in countries outside of the USA, otherwise the iPad will likely suffer in one of two ways.

'Some' people intending to use iPad for magazines/books will hold off until iBook store launches in their territory

or more likely Amazon will release their Kindle Application enhanced for iPad with all the bells and whistles of iBooks, and enable us to read away and purchase our books as normal.

This will inevitably lead to a knock on effect of decreasing the need / purpose of iBook's outside of the USA especially if it takes as long to release as iTunes initially did, and if content is limited in differing territories such as Sweeden/Ireland/UK etc..

 

[alexgab]

Today is june 10, 2012. I found this topic two years later and the iBook Store in Mexico is still frozen in time. No books are available for purchase. Only free downloads of classic authors. Often I thought Steve Jobs liked to think in several ideas at the time, but not all of them were fully developed. I would prefer to hear: iBooks will be US only, but as soon as we reach a conmerce agreement, we will release the app in different countries.

Today I have found more useful to buy and download books from the Amazon book store. In Mexico the iBook app is a forgoten one.

 

[NewbieCanada]

The bookstore is available only in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland and Australia. Obviously there wasn't much of an issue in developing content for these countries - even if the Irish rights belonged to company B and the American to company A, the book would already exist in the correct format and they wouldn't have the expense of converting it for a very small potential market.

I've bought a few books in iBooks, because I had an iTunes gift card, but in general I prefer Kindle - I can read my Kindle books on any device, not just on iDevices, and the prices are usually lower.