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NEWS: Japanese Publishers Decry Unauthorized iOS Book Apps

Many e-books were originally distributed as individual apps via the App Store before better alternatives, such as Amazon's Kindle app or the Stanza e-book reader app became popular. Apple introduced its own e-book store and reader app this year when it launched iBooks alongside its iPad tablet.

Though the iBookstore makes a seemingly better option for book distribution than individual apps, there are some advantages to releasing books the "old" way. If the material isn't well suited to the current EPUB format, for instance, a custom app might use custom typesetting, include additional multimedia elements, or facilitate user interaction. The Elements: A Visual Exploration is one popular example of such an app.

Those making pirated copies of e-books also benefit from selling individual apps, though. Selling titles via the iBookstore requires an International Standard Book Number, or ISBN, which can serve as a roadblock of sorts for piracy. An e-book wrapped up as an individual app doesn't require an ISBN, and can be easier to pass off as legitimate.

It does seem strange that Apple seemingly approves so many of these infringing works. Don't they realize? Do they care?