Readium: Difference between revisions

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Readium Foundation is a non profit that produces "reading system toolkits" that can be deployed across multiple platforms and digital publishing formats. According to its certificate of incorporation, it was incorporated in Delaware, USA in 2013. It has multiple members including: The European Digital Reading Lab (EDRLab), Bibliovault (University of Chicago Press), Columbia University Library, eKitabu, New York Public Library, New York University Library and DRM Inside Co., Ltd.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Membership Overview |website=readium.org |url=https://readium.org/membership/overview/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260623133413/https://readium.org/membership/overview/ |archive-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=READIUM FOUNDATION CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION |url=https://readium.org/documents/READIUM-FOUNDATION-CERTIFICATE-OF-INCORPORATION.pdf |url-status=live |website=readium.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240801153456/https://readium.org/documents/READIUM-FOUNDATION-CERTIFICATE-OF-INCORPORATION.pdf |archive-date=1 Aug 2024 |access-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Readium Project Goals |url=https://readium.org/about/project_goals.html/ |url-status=live |website=readium.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260311013954/https://readium.org/about/project_goals.html/ |archive-date=11 Mar 2026 |access-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref>

==Background==

<blockquote>"The Readium project was started by the IDPF in 2012 because the EPUB 3.0 specification had been released late in 2011, but no implementation yet existed (or, at least, had been publicly released). So IDPF provided some funding and encouragement and two firms, Evident Point and Bluefire, took the lead in developing a JavaScript implementation of a significant part of the EPUB 3 spec."</blockquote> The JavaScript implementation lacked features and was written as a [[Google Chrome]] extension. It also didn't provide native implementations for devices and "it couldn’t support DRM securely." After additional development, they released the open source Readium SDK Core.<blockquote>"The SDK was designed from the beginning to support DRM ( Digital Rights Management ), a mandatory feature for digital library lending, and also required by many publisher for anti-piracy matters. It was moreover designed to be DRM-agnostic, able to support multiple DRM implementations. However, while that capability existed in the SDK, there was also an increasing perception over time that the existing DRM implementations (Adobe, Kobo, Sony) were too heavyweight and proprietary and there existed a need for a new open-source DRM specification and implementation. The result was the Readium LCP (Licensed Content Protection) specification and implementation, which is rolling out in 2017."</blockquote><ref>{{Cite web |title=A Bit of History |website=readium.org |url=https://readium.org/about/history.html/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260623141903/https://readium.org/about/history.html/ |archive-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref>

<blockquote>"The Readium project was started by the IDPF in 2012 because the EPUB 3.0 specification had been released late in 2011, but no implementation yet existed (or, at least, had been publicly released). So IDPF provided some funding and encouragement and two firms, Evident Point and Bluefire, took the lead in developing a JavaScript implementation of a significant part of the EPUB 3 spec."</blockquote> The [[wikipedia:JavaScript|JavaScript]] implementation lacked features and was written as a [[Google Chrome]] extension. It also didn't provide native implementations for devices and "it couldn’t support DRM securely." After additional development, they released the open source Readium SDK Core.<blockquote>"The SDK was designed from the beginning to support DRM ( Digital Rights Management ), a mandatory feature for digital library lending, and also required by many publisher for anti-piracy matters. It was moreover designed to be DRM-agnostic, able to support multiple DRM implementations. However, while that capability existed in the SDK, there was also an increasing perception over time that the existing DRM implementations (Adobe, Kobo, Sony) were too heavyweight and proprietary and there existed a need for a new open-source DRM specification and implementation. The result was the Readium LCP (Licensed Content Protection) specification and implementation, which is rolling out in 2017."</blockquote><ref>{{Cite web |title=A Bit of History |website=readium.org |url=https://readium.org/about/history.html/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260623141903/https://readium.org/about/history.html/ |archive-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref>

==Consumer-impact summary==

While it is commendable that Readium and its partners (like EDRLab) promote open source code and wished to design a DRM system that aimed to avoid vendor lock-in (which could have caused a lack of innovation, diversity, features and would have handed one vendor total control), aimed to be more interoperable, simpler, secure and ensuring that: <blockquote>"The solution is designed to be minimally intrusive for end-users, who don’t need to create a third-party account. User can share their ebooks with their family or close friends"</blockquote><ref>{{Cite web |title=Readium LCP |website=edrlab.org |url=https://www.edrlab.org/readium-lcp/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260617083801/https://www.edrlab.org/readium-lcp/ |archive-date=17 Jun 2026 |access-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref> it can be argued that [[Digital rights management |DRM]] in itself is negatively affecting consumers.

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==Readium LCP==

===Preliminary===

Readium LCP is Readium's DRM system. Readium Foundation is responsible for maintenance of the Readium LCP specification, while: <blockquote>"management of the Readium LCP ecosystem is handled by EDRLab, acting as Certification Authority."</blockquote><ref>{{Cite web |title=Readium Projects |website=readium.org |url=https://readium.org/development/projects |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260527112832/https://readium.org/development/projects |archive-date=27 May 2026 |access-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref>

The design of Readium Licensed Content Protection (LCP) was influenced by a 2012 paper called "EPUB Lightweight Content Protection: Use Cases & Requirements" by Bill Rosenblatt (link in the External Links section).

It is also an international standard, referenced as: ISO/IEC 23078-2:2024.

===Basics===

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The Readium LCP library software is mostly open-source, only uk = userkey(h) isn’t (in the open-source version it is void). Only trusted licence providers and trusted app developers know what this string transform is. Therefore one cannot take the open-source software and simply add a “save as clear epub” feature applied on ebooks provided by certified servers."</blockquote>

<ref>{{Cite web |title=LCP principles |website=edrlab.org |url=https://www.edrlab.org/readium-lcp/principles/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref>{{Cite web |title=LCP principles |website=edrlab.org |url=https://www.edrlab.org/readium-lcp/principles/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260623162817/https://www.edrlab.org/readium-lcp/principles/ |archive-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref>

==Incidents==

~~{{Ph-C-Inc}}~~

This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].

===~~Example incident one~~ (~~''date''~~)===

===DMCA Takedown (2022-01-04)===

~~{{Main~~|~~link to~~ the ~~main CR Wiki article}}~~

Readium filed a [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act |DMCA]] takedown notice with [[wikipedia:GitHub|GitHub]] in 2022. The notice stated that: <blockquote>"The user noDRM has published on GitHub software which specifically allows the decryption of ebooks protected by the LCP Profile 1.0 and allows saving them as non-protected ebooks. This infringement violates our legal business and affects authors and publishers’ IP. This codebase is presented as a plug-in of the well-known Calibre software, an open-source ebook manager."</blockquote>

~~Short summary~~ of the ~~incident (could be~~ the ~~same~~ as the ~~summary preceding~~ the ~~article)~~.

As well as that the explicit circumvention of Readium LCP was in a file called '''"lpcdedrm.py'''." And that: <blockquote>"The user noDRM is actively promoting the activity of cracking both library loans and one-off purchases"</blockquote>followed to a link to a GitHub Issue to substantiate the claim.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2022-01-04-readium |author=[private] |date=2022-01-04 |url=https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2022/01/2022-01-04-readium.md |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260604153156/https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2022/01/2022-01-04-readium.md |archive-date=4 Jun 2026 |access-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref>

===~~Example incident two (''date'')~~===

As a result, the relevant files as well as relevant [[wikipedia:Git|Git]] history was removed from the repository.

...

==Products==

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 Readium Foundation is a non profit that produces "reading system toolkits" that can be deployed across multiple platforms and digital publishing formats. According to its certificate of incorporation, it was incorporated in Delaware, USA in 2013. It has multiple members including: The European Digital Reading Lab (EDRLab), Bibliovault (University of Chicago Press), Columbia University Library, eKitabu, New York Public Library, New York University Library and DRM Inside Co., Ltd.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Membership Overview |website=readium.org |url=https://readium.org/membership/overview/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260623133413/https://readium.org/membership/overview/ |archive-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=READIUM FOUNDATION CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION |url=https://readium.org/documents/READIUM-FOUNDATION-CERTIFICATE-OF-INCORPORATION.pdf |url-status=live |website=readium.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240801153456/https://readium.org/documents/READIUM-FOUNDATION-CERTIFICATE-OF-INCORPORATION.pdf |archive-date=1 Aug 2024 |access-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Readium Project Goals |url=https://readium.org/about/project_goals.html/ |url-status=live |website=readium.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260311013954/https://readium.org/about/project_goals.html/ |archive-date=11 Mar 2026 |access-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref>
 ==Background==
-<blockquote>"The Readium project was started by the IDPF in 2012 because the EPUB 3.0 specification had been released late in 2011, but no implementation yet existed (or, at least, had been publicly released). So IDPF provided some funding and encouragement and two firms, Evident Point and Bluefire, took the lead in developing a JavaScript implementation of a significant part of the EPUB 3 spec."</blockquote> The JavaScript implementation lacked features and was written as a [[Google Chrome]] extension. It also didn't provide native implementations for devices and "it couldn’t support DRM securely." After additional development, they released the open source Readium SDK Core.<blockquote>"The SDK was designed from the beginning to support DRM ( Digital Rights Management ), a mandatory feature for digital library lending, and also required by many publisher for anti-piracy matters. It was moreover designed to be DRM-agnostic, able to support multiple DRM implementations. However, while that capability existed in the SDK, there was also an increasing perception over time that the existing DRM implementations (Adobe, Kobo, Sony) were too heavyweight and proprietary and there existed a need for a new open-source DRM specification and implementation. The result was the Readium LCP (Licensed Content Protection) specification and implementation, which is rolling out in 2017."</blockquote><ref>{{Cite web |title=A Bit of History |website=readium.org |url=https://readium.org/about/history.html/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260623141903/https://readium.org/about/history.html/ |archive-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref>
+<blockquote>"The Readium project was started by the IDPF in 2012 because the EPUB 3.0 specification had been released late in 2011, but no implementation yet existed (or, at least, had been publicly released). So IDPF provided some funding and encouragement and two firms, Evident Point and Bluefire, took the lead in developing a JavaScript implementation of a significant part of the EPUB 3 spec."</blockquote> The [[wikipedia:JavaScript|JavaScript]] implementation lacked features and was written as a [[Google Chrome]] extension. It also didn't provide native implementations for devices and "it couldn’t support DRM securely." After additional development, they released the open source Readium SDK Core.<blockquote>"The SDK was designed from the beginning to support DRM ( Digital Rights Management ), a mandatory feature for digital library lending, and also required by many publisher for anti-piracy matters. It was moreover designed to be DRM-agnostic, able to support multiple DRM implementations. However, while that capability existed in the SDK, there was also an increasing perception over time that the existing DRM implementations (Adobe, Kobo, Sony) were too heavyweight and proprietary and there existed a need for a new open-source DRM specification and implementation. The result was the Readium LCP (Licensed Content Protection) specification and implementation, which is rolling out in 2017."</blockquote><ref>{{Cite web |title=A Bit of History |website=readium.org |url=https://readium.org/about/history.html/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260623141903/https://readium.org/about/history.html/ |archive-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref>
 ==Consumer-impact summary==
 While it is commendable that Readium and its partners (like EDRLab) promote open source code and wished to design a DRM system that aimed to avoid vendor lock-in (which could have caused a lack of innovation, diversity, features and would have handed one vendor total control), aimed to be more interoperable, simpler, secure and ensuring that: <blockquote>"The solution is designed to be minimally intrusive for end-users, who don’t need to create a third-party account. User can share their ebooks with their family or close friends"</blockquote><ref>{{Cite web |title=Readium LCP |website=edrlab.org |url=https://www.edrlab.org/readium-lcp/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260617083801/https://www.edrlab.org/readium-lcp/ |archive-date=17 Jun 2026 |access-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref> it can be argued that [[Digital rights management |DRM]] in itself is negatively affecting consumers.
@@ Line 18: / Line 19: @@
 ==Readium LCP==
+===Preliminary===
+Readium LCP is Readium's DRM system. Readium Foundation is responsible for maintenance of the Readium LCP specification, while: <blockquote>"management of the Readium LCP ecosystem is handled by EDRLab, acting as Certification Authority."</blockquote><ref>{{Cite web |title=Readium Projects |website=readium.org |url=https://readium.org/development/projects |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260527112832/https://readium.org/development/projects |archive-date=27 May 2026 |access-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref>
 The design of Readium Licensed Content Protection (LCP) was influenced by a 2012 paper called "EPUB Lightweight Content Protection: Use Cases & Requirements" by Bill Rosenblatt (link in the External Links section).
 It is also an international standard, referenced as: ISO/IEC 23078-2:2024.
 ===Basics===
@@ Line 44: / Line 48: @@
 The Readium LCP library software is mostly open-source, only uk = userkey(h) isn’t (in the open-source version it is void). Only trusted licence providers and trusted app developers know what this string transform is. Therefore one cannot take the open-source software and simply add a “save as clear epub” feature applied on ebooks provided by certified servers."</blockquote>
-<ref>{{Cite web |title=LCP principles |website=edrlab.org |url=https://www.edrlab.org/readium-lcp/principles/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
+<ref>{{Cite web |title=LCP principles |website=edrlab.org |url=https://www.edrlab.org/readium-lcp/principles/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260623162817/https://www.edrlab.org/readium-lcp/principles/ |archive-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref>
 ==Incidents==
-{{Ph-C-Inc}}
 This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].
-===Example incident one (''date'')===
+===DMCA Takedown (2022-01-04)===
-{{Main|link to the main CR Wiki article}}
+Readium filed a [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act |DMCA]] takedown notice with [[wikipedia:GitHub|GitHub]] in 2022. The notice stated that: <blockquote>"The user noDRM has published on GitHub software which specifically allows the decryption of ebooks protected by the LCP Profile 1.0 and allows saving them as non-protected ebooks. This infringement violates our legal business and affects authors and publishers’ IP. This codebase is presented as a plug-in of the well-known Calibre software, an open-source ebook manager."</blockquote>
-Short summary of the incident (could be the same as the summary preceding the article).
+As well as that the explicit circumvention of Readium LCP was in a file called '''"lpcdedrm.py'''." And that: <blockquote>"The user noDRM is actively promoting the activity of cracking both library loans and one-off purchases"</blockquote>followed to a link to a GitHub Issue to substantiate the claim.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2022-01-04-readium |author=[private] |date=2022-01-04 |url=https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2022/01/2022-01-04-readium.md |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260604153156/https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2022/01/2022-01-04-readium.md |archive-date=4 Jun 2026 |access-date=23 Jun 2026}}</ref>
-===Example incident two (''date'')===
+As a result, the relevant files as well as relevant [[wikipedia:Git|Git]] history was removed from the repository.
-...
 ==Products==