Do Not Use iBooks Author to Author an iBook

After loads of research and design work, this week I eagerly uploaded my interactive, multi-touch book -“Why We Fight: WWII and the Art of Public Persuasion” for approval at the iBookstore.

A day after my upload, I received an error ticket for using the term “iBook” within my work.

Use of Apple Inc. Copyrighted Terms (Description) Books must not:
Use the phrase “iBook” to describe the book. iBooks is the trademark for Apple’s book reading software, and iBooks Author is the trademark for its electronic book creation software. Books created with Apple’s iBooks Author software and/or sold on the iBookstore should be described as a book, ebook, electronic book or interactive book, but not an “”iBook.”

Perhaps I’ll rewrite into something like “Here’s how to navigate this book on your Pad.”

10 Replies to “Do Not Use iBooks Author to Author an iBook”

    1. True enough. But Apple put me in purgatory instead. I followed their instructions to update a pending book project. It failed. There tech support told me to use another procedure. When I tried that it failed since it turns out it’s designed for submitting new projects, not updating existing. Still haven’t got a straight answer from them on what to do. … The joys of self-publishing…

  1. I’m surprised to see an author take such a cavalier stance when it comes to intellectual property. I’m sure you would not like it if somebody made a copy of your eBook and sold it under a different title. So why do you gripe about giving the same respect to others? “iBook(TM)” and “iBooks(TM) are Apple trademarks. Apple’s iBookStore(TM) guidelines point that out and even suggest using “multi-touch eBook” to describe your eBook. Is that too hard? There is a long history of companies losing their trademarks when they allowed them to fall into general use. I don’t understand why you should you be so offended when Apple declares that this not going to happen to them.

  2. Actually I wasn’t offended as you suggest. Nor was I advocating abusing Apple’s intellectual property. I used the term in my work unaware of Apple’s guidelines. I figured that’s what folks were calling the new multi-touch books just like I refer to my smartphone as an iPhone.

    My goal was to let others know not to repeat my error. Thanks for your comment. As an Apple stockholder, I appreciate your diligence.

  3. I was impressed with your response to Tom. His remarks would have angered me if they had been directed at me, yet you didn’t react to his remark. Instead you explained your point of view without belittling Tom. Very mature and diplomatic. Well done.

  4. Oddly enough, I just got a (very pleasant and polite) note from Apple about using the term “iBook” on my website to describe the 10 iBooks I’ve created using iBA and that I sell on the iBook section of iTunes.

    They suggest that I call them “ebooks” or “books available through the iBookstore.” I’ve asked them under what circumstances anyone can use the iBooks moniker. Someone must be using it because Google offers 20 million hits when you do a search for “iBooks.” I await their reply with interest.

    They would also prefer that I refer to the “iBookstore” rather than “iTunes” when directing people to the books from my site. (I mentioned that listings on iBookstore.com all link to iTunes when people are ready to buy — and that there is no actual iBookstore, just an iTunes store that sells iBooks.)

    I think the marketing department is being run by lawyers who all graduated last year…

  5. Frank,

    Thanks for the lawyer joke and the smile it brings. Sounds like Apple was a bit more diplomatic with you. I just got a robo email saying my book was refused for use of term iBook.

    Cheers, Peter

  6. I’ve got a simple question that probably has a simple answer that I can’t discover for myself.

    I’ve just published an ebook and the people at Vook did the layout and uploading to Amazon and the iBookstore. The book is on both these places (Love Your Deck is the title), and now I’ve begun the work of building a web page to promote it. What I can’t figure out is how to create something I can put on a web page or email that will direct people to the book on the iBookstore. I see the iBookstore descriptions on the right side of this website and they look great. How do I make them for my book?

    Like I said, a simple question, so please forgive me for my ignorance.

    Thanks very much,

    Steve

    1. Hi Steve,

      That’s great to hear about your book. What you’re seeing on my site was made using a widget builder. iTunes creates them here

      Select “Book Discovery” and then input your book info – it produces the HTML that you can paste into your site.

      Best of luck!

      Peter

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