San Francisco-based Ownshelf has created a new social network service for sharing DRM-free ebooks, and is raising money to expand to mobile platforms.
Ownshelf App for sharing eBooks with friends across devices
ePublish Yourself Intelligence
In brief:
- Ownshelf.com, currently in public beta, allows users to upload DRM-free EPUB books to share with friends.
- Founder Rick Marazzani is working to raise $7500 on Kickstarter to create Ownshelf, an app for iOS and Android phones and tablets.
- Marazzani is pitching Ownshelf as “a file-locker for legitimately storing eBooks, like Goodreads meets DropBox.”
- The public beta (website) has already attracted 20,000 people.
- Some of Ownshelf’s featured authors include Paulo Coelho, Cory Doctorow, Donna McDonald, Mark Cuban, MC Lars, Rick Falkvinge, and Seth Godin.
ePublish Yourself! encourages this effort
ePublish Yourself! is a strong supporter of a DRM-free ebook ecosystem, and therefore encourages Ownshelf’s efforts. Readers should be masters of their content (within fair use provisions of copyright laws), and authors should be able to benefit from pass-along propagation of their works (as authors currently do with print books).
Some points to note, however:
- People will not be able to upload or share DRM-protected books, such as those from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, or other mainstream ebookstores.
- There is a risk that Ownshelf might become an illegal ebook sharing service, though the company is taking steps to avoid that by leveraging Facebook logins using real names and accounts.
- Publishers might still find the idea of sharing DRM ebooks objectionable. In this case, are lawsuits far behind?