It would be great to have a licensing agreement with Amazon that enables us to purchase a Kindle e-book and use it on Lingq. Perhaps this could be some sort of arrangement where you purchase an e-book through an Amazon storefront on Lingq.
There is already a partnership between Amazon and Goodreads which integrates your Amazon and Goodreads book lists.
A similar partnership between Lingq and Amazon could be suggested as a way to help drive o Amazon sales for second language books.
We could ask Amazon to set up package deals for users to license the same book in two (or more) different languages, with the option of using the two language versions together on Lingq.
It’s a great thought, but I don’t see how it could be arranged, both cost effectively (lawyers, contracts, etc.) or legally. Even if it could work, it would take a lot of effort and time.
As long as you have a computer, you can buy Epubor’s software and decrypt your own epubs for use on LingQ.
It’s insane, btw, that we can’t use our own ebooks because they “aren’t” our own anymore but we just use a license!
My 2 seconds rant!
@Giraffe28 It’s too complicated, digital copyright for books is a mess!
LingQ could platform ebooks from independents though. There are many writers that own their own copyright and self-publish. I could see potential collaborating with this “industry”. But is there a market for paying someone to justify it? Not sure about it at all.
It’s easier you do it by yourself as others said already.
Exactly the reason I’m against any collaboration with Amazon. Amazon can do me a favour and shove up their Kindle up to their… Any collaboration with them would be a big headache, in my opinion.
It’s not as if Amazon had invented this. All ebook platforms use DRM systems afaik. The concept of licensing instead of acquiring has also established in video games, for example.
The positive aspect is that at least here in Germany printed books have fixed prices. Ebooks don’t, and due to this they are usually way cheaper then their printed counterparts.
Yep, it’s not just Amazon. I deteste all who do this. Yes, it impacts games too: it started with Steam as I remember. And people are supporting this nonsense by “purchasing” this way.
I contributed too, unfortunately: I bought 4 games since Steam started in 2003. But I didn’t buy any books this way. And I probably won’t.
If they don’t want me to have the book, all right. But then call themselves a library instead of a shop and let me access to every single book to read, like in a library.
Yes, absolutely, but this doesn’t make it right either. It should be our book, and we should be able to use it as we please, as long as we don’t resell it and so on.
The fact that we have to learn all these technical strategies to use our own ebooks for studying is insane! I mean, we are suppose to be the “good” ones. We buy the books, and we even use them to study!
Yep, the world is upside down in many ways.
But the problem of licensing a digital book is even worse, because the copyright is often not even international, different countries can have different owners, and readers buy those ebooks in different countries with different rules! It’s a mess!
An independent writer that own his books doesn’t have any of those problems.
Does Calibre DeDRM still work? In February 2025, Amazon removed the “Download & Transfer via USB” feature for Kindle books, and I’m curious if you know of a workaround.
I, too, have dreamed of this type of collaboration with any major bookseller, for audio+epub together, and/or a partnership with a music company like Spotify. The collaboration could be to make it easier to import (purchased/licensed) content into LingQ OR to provide LingQ-like tools inside the book/music app.
I mean… why wouldn’t Spotify want to provide a button that translates lyrics? It makes music more accessible, which ought to be income-generating…. Maybe there could be a LingQ - book/music app middleware that allows the user to store lingqs and count their statistics.
Saxo, Storytel, … maybe smaller companies with a little more innovative spirit would be a place to start.
It works if you are using Kindle for PC 2.4.0 (70904) and DeDRM 10.0.9. Download the latter, as it won’t update to this version within Calibre (it’s a beta release). As far as I’ve read, it will only work with books published before April 23th 2025. I don’t have anything that new, so I can’t check whether it will really won’t work with newer books.
