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Charter for Unified OEBPS Container Format
Working Group
The following is the charter
for the Unified OEBPS Container Format Working Group. The group will begin meetings
immediately. Participation in the group is open to IDPF members and
invited experts (invited at the discretion of the chairs of the working group).
If you have any questions, please contact the
IDPF.
Document Submitted by: Garth Conboy & John Rivlin
Date of Document: November 4, 2005
Document Approved by Board: November 7, 2005
Charter Start Date: November 7, 2005
Charter End Date: November 7, 2006
Working Charter Update Date: March 17, 2006
Unified OEBPS Container Format Working Group
Mission
Standardize a unified (across Reading Systems) Open eBook Publication Structure
(OEBPS) container format.
Scope
The
scope of working group activities is limited to the adoption/creation of the
OEBPS unified container format standard and sample implementations thereof.
Once a container format has
been standardized, its value could be significantly enhanced by the creation of
a
validator/checker
for both the container itself and the embedded OEBPS publication. The existence
of such a tool would help ensure interoperability of contained publications
across Reading Systems. It is likely that the scope of this working group will
be extended to create or “bless” such a validation tool.
In
addition to the above goals, this Working Group will serve as a conduit for
minor maintenance updates for OEBPS. There is a maintenance update of 1.2.1
being suggested by former members of PSWG. Since that group is currently
inactive, this update can be worked on and presented as an output document of
the Container Format Working Group. Any major updates to OEBPS will require the
(re)formation of an official Working Group.
Current Industry Problems
Publishers and other creators of eBook content need to generate multiple eBook
formats when providing content to multiple eBook platforms or through multiple
channels (e.g. MS Reader, eReader.com, MobiPocket, ETI). This is driven by the
fact that the various OEBPS Reading Systems generally start with similar
"source" documents (the OEBPS package and document files) but require
platform-specific processing and/or DRM-wrapping before the content is in the
format that is actually displayed to the end user. Purveyors of content need to
produce multiple distinct eBooks for each piece of content – this negatively
impacts content flow to eBook platforms due to time and expense. Sparse content
choices drive down consumer interest. Content-consumers receive/purchase
platform-targeted eBooks, which limits their ability to move the content from
one Reading System to another – this negatively impacts consumer perception due
to lack of malleability and fear of platform death.
Preliminary Solutions
In
bullet form the direction would be as follows:
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Standardize a unified OEBPS container format.
-
Publishers and other content creators would produce only this format
for entry into the distribution and/or sales channels.
-
Publishers would allow sale of such content (perhaps after
platform-targeting and/or DRM-wrapping) into Reading Systems that are
generally believed to render OEBPS with “viable” fidelity.
-
Communication of DRM requirements from publishers to distributors and
resellers could be accomplished via various mechanisms (note that the
standardization of such mechanisms is
not
within the scope of the unified container effort):
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Contractually, as
defined between publisher and distributors/resellers
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Electronically, but
separately from the content container, as defined between publishers and
distributors/resellers
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Included in the
container in an agreed-upon rights language
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The latter of these may be a laudable goal, but would be time consuming
(effort, agreement, lawyers) to accomplish – the initial container effort
should assume one of the first two, but should do nothing to prevent future
use of container resident DRM.
-
Participants in the distribution and/or sales channel will be responsible
for required platform targeting and/or DRM wrapping, if any. Interchange of
device-targeted or DRM-wrapped versions of content eBooks produced from the
unified format is not addressed by this effort, but should be dealt with by
subsequent or concurrent efforts.
-
Content that is not secured (does not require Reading System specific DRM)
and is targeted at Reading Systems that natively support the new container
format can be directly targeted at these Reading Systems in the new unified
OEBPS container format. This would allow easy interchange of such content
between Reading Systems that support the container format.
-
Content interoperability
between Reading Systems is a high-level goal. The ability to exchange such
non-secured content between Reading Systems is a step toward this goal.
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OEBPS compliant Reading Systems should support content input in the
unified OEBPS container format. OEBPS compliant Reading Systems may
support alternative and/or proprietary content input formats. For example,
HappyBook would support the new container format as well as the
legacy/proprietary HappyBook content input format.
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Even though PDF versions of eBook content are produced on a different
“branch” of the content production workflow from XML/OEBPS content –
presumably PDF is created near the end of the for-print work-flow – it may
be desirable to include the PDF form of a given piece of content within the
new container file. Perhaps, pending accessibility issues and vendor
support for securing PDF, the container could support the presence of one or
both versions of a piece of content: XML/OEBPS and/or PDF.
Duration of Working Group Charter
One
year – six months to standard, sample implementations within the year.
Nature of Deliverables
Working
group deliverables should include:
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Minutes from working group conference calls and face-to-face meetings.
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Adopt and/or design container format standard; generate OEBF/IDPF
specification thereof.
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Sample implementations to include cross-platform utilities to take input
OEBPS package, documents, images, out-of-spine content, possible PDF version
and generate the container there from.
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Cross-platform utilities to “explode” a container back to its component
pieces.
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Probable vendor-produced follow-on work product would be enhanced versions
of various Reading Systems that can take standard container file and input
for display or preview.
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Probable follow-in work product would be a validation tool for both the
container itself and the embedded OEBPS publication to help ensure
cross-Reading System interoperability.
Intellectual Property and IDPF Corporate
Documents
All
work in the Working Group will be in compliance with the IDPF membership
agreement, intellectual property policy, anti-trust documents, policies and
procedures and bylaws of the IDPF.
Work Schedule
In
IDPF-time, like geologic time, accomplishments are generally spread over a
multitude of years. However, as the tasks of this working group are well
focused, and assuming active involvement of a critical mass of participants, it
seems feasible to complete the standards effort in six months, with
implementation samples and utilities to follow quickly.
Meeting Schedule
There
are expected to be two to four one-hour conference calls per month. In
addition, there should probably be two two-day face-to-face meetings within six
months.
Communication to IDPF Members
All
Working Group documents will be made available to all IDPF Members via the
Working Group’s IDPF Intranet. Working Group Chairs will be available to Board
for updates on the progress of the Working Group. All IDPF members will be
encouraged to participate in the Working Group as well as select Invited Experts
to be selected by the Working Group.
Estimated Time Commitment for IDPF Members
Participation in scheduled meetings plus additional off-meeting time investment
for research and drafting.
Members of Working
Group
Kelley
L. Allen (Random House)
Angel Ancin (iRex Technologies)
Ryan Bandy (Random House)
Richard Bellaver (Ball State University)
Nick Bogaty (IDPF) - Working Group Secretary
Thierry Brethes (Mobipocket)
Janice Carter (Benetech/Bookshare.org)
Richard Cohn (Adobe Systems Inc.)
Garth Conboy (eBook Technologies) - Working Group
Co-Chair
Jon Ferraoilo (Adobe Systems Inc.) - Working Group Vice-Chair
Neil De Young (Time Warner Book Group)
Linh N. Do (Random House, Inc.)
Geoff Freed (WGBH)
Liang Gang (TriWorks Asia)
Peter Ghali (Motricity, ereader.com)
Markku T. Hakkinen (DAISY Consortium)
Gillian Harrison (NetLibrary)
Jonathan Hevenstone (Publishing Dimensions)
Theresa Horner (HarperCollins)
Karen Iannone (Houghton Mifflin)
Claire Israel (Simon & Schuster)
Mattias Karlsson (Dolphin Computer Access)
Bill Kasdorf (Apex Publishing)
George Kerscher (DAISY Consortium)
Steve Kotrch (Simon & Schuster)
Bill McCoy (Adobe Systems, Inc.)
Bill McKenna (Follett)
Bonnie Melton (Houghton Mifflin College Division)
Jon
Noring (OpenReader Consortium) - Invited Expert
Sayu Osayande (Motricity, ereader.com)
Lee Passey - Invited Export
Steve Potash (OverDrive)
John Rivlin (eBook
Technologies) - Working Group Co-Chair
Tyler Ruse (Codemantra)
Mike Smith (Harlequin)
Kimi Sugeno (John Wiley & Sons)
Gary Varnell (Osoft.com)
Xin Wang, Ph.D. (ContentGuard, Inc.)
Andrew Weinstein (Lightning Source)
Tom Whitcomb (NetLibrary)
Andy Williams (Cambridge University Press)
Eli Willner (Green Point Technology Services)
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