European eBook Interoperability Study Recommends EPUB 3

May 21, 2013

A study of interoperabillity of eBooks, commissioned by the European & International Booksellers Federation (EIBF), has recommended EPUB 3. The report was prepared by Professor Christoph Bläsi and Professor Franz Rothlauf of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and states: "There is no technical or functional reason not to use and establish EPUB 3 as an/the interoperable (open) ebook format standard.", noting that EPUB 3 supports all features needed for multimedia and interactive e-books. The report highlights the open source work of the recently established Readium Foundation as a meanas to promote increased interoperability across EPUB implementations and argues the feasibility of development of interoperable DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology for the EPUB ecosystemOn May 16, at the EIBF Annual Conference in Brussels, the report was formally presented to Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the EU Commission for the Digital Agenda, who welcomed the study with praise: "Interoperability is a major requirement to build a truly digital society... Now is the time for open standards regarding ebooks".   EIBF release with link to full report: http://bit.ly/19APyB5  .

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