Readium LCP

woman in library reading at a tablet with lock in her hand

Globally available reading systems

This section contains a list of e-ink devices and reading applications localized in different languages, available worldwide and able to side-load an LCP license or LCP protected ebook.

Pocketbook e-ink readers are available in many countries (including France as Vivlio devices), and they are LCP compliant.

Aldiko Next is a free mobile app (iOS / Android). Based on the Readium Mobile toolkit, it is developed by De Marque and supports EPUB, audiobooks and PDF documents from any source (local folders and OPDS catalogs) and supports a large set of languages.

Thorium Reader is a free desktop reading app usable on Windows 10, Mac and Linux. With this application, EDRLab firstly aims at offering a great EPUB 3 reading experience with an emphasis on accessibility for print disabled people. The support of the LCP DRM and OPDS catalogs makes it a great tool for library patrons. This application also supports PDF, DAISY publications, audiobooks and Divina comics. It is localized in a large set of languages and new locales are easily added.

Status of deployment in different parts of the world

This section takes a geographical approach and shows interactions between these organizations. A third section will focus on LCP technology providers.

France has been the first country to move ahead with LCP, especially for e-lending, which explains why a large set of LCP compliant servers and applications are on the market today.

e-lending: the national e-lending service called PNB (Prêt Numérique en Bibliothèque) provides ebooks to a large set of French public libraries and distributes both LCP and Adobe protected ebooks, provided by different distributors (Numilog, Eden Livres, Immatériel, Vivlio …). PNB explicitly recommends the use of LCP for EPUB and PDF titles and has developed a Readium based mobile application (Baobab Reader) with automatic synchronization of borrowed ebooks to push its usage.

Two other e-lending solutions are LCP compliant: La Médi@thèque numérique and BiblioAccess.

Retail: ePagine (which also powers Place des Libraires, Bookeen, Gibert, Gallimard and others) provides its complete catalog of ebooks as LCP and Adobe protected content (when it is not simply watermarked), and its comics are only LCP protected.

Numilog has also deployed LCP on its library website, on GirlyBoox and on its white label network. This involves a catalog of 500.000 EPUB and PDF ebooks, in French and English (press release).

Some publishers, like Editis, have started selling their production with an LCP protection on their website.

Academic publishing: John Libbey Eurotext has adopted LCP for its academic publications in 2022.

e-ink readers: The usage of LCP is eased by its support on two brands of e-ink readers sold in the country: Bookeen (Diva and Notéa) and Vivlio (i.e. Pocketbook devices). These companies have also developed LCP enabled mobile companion apps.

In Germany

Die Onleihe is the main e-lending solution in Germany. Since 2019, German titles are LCP protected via a solution provided by Vivlio. Library patrons access these LCP protected publications on their tolino e-readers (now developed by Rakuten Kobo). More than 25.000 LCP licences are generated each day.

In 2022, tolino is adding LCP to its bookselling service in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

In other parts of Western Europe

In the UK, Firsty Group has adopted LCP (using the Readium LCP Server provided by EDRLab) for its direct to consumer Glassboxx platform and for the Ulverscroft platform developed for providing ebooks and audiobooks to public libraries in the UK, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and US. It has also developed white-labelled mobile apps for SFGateway, Reading House, Hope Books, .

In Belgium, the e-lending platform Lirtuel offers LCP protected ebooks and audiobooks to its patron. Lirtuel is recommending Aldiko Next as a mobile app for accessing its content via an OPDS catalog.

In Spain, Libranda and Xercode are distributing LCP compliant solutions. The national eBiblio e-lending service and the globally available Spanish courses of the Instituto Cervantes have adopted LCP as their DRM of choice.

In Italy, MLOL has deployed LCP on is e-lending platform and has developed LCP compliant iOS, Android and Desktop applications, based on the Readium Mobile and Desktop toolkits and the Thorium Reader application (see their blog post). LCP protected ebooks will be provided by Edigita.

In Northern and Eastern Europe

Bokbasen (an early member of EDRLab) is the leading ebook distributor in Norway. Bokbasen is distributing since 2019 LCP protected ebooks and audiobooks to its customers. The company has also released the LCP compliant Allbok mobile application, based on the Readium Mobile toolkit. ebok.no is Norway’s top ebookstore; It has released in July 2020 the LCP compliant EBOK.NO mobile application, based on the Readium Mobile toolkit. Pubfront, a Norwegian aggregation, transcoding, distribution platform, has also developed the coop story mobile application based on the same Readium Mobile toolkit.

Stockholm Public Library and Sambruk, from Sweden, have made their Bibblix mobile application LCP compliant. Bibblix is “an app for children between the ages of 6-12, which purpose is to promote and inspire reading in a joyful manner, without any demands that they might else experience in a school environment for instance”. Check our post here.

Axiell Media, a large Swedish solution provider for publishers, distributors, public libraries and schools, is providing ebooks to multiple libraries and booksellers. The Axiell Media platform has now adopted the LCP DRM and the Readium Mobile toolkit for its own iOS and Android reading apps.

Ozone.bg, an online sales platform based in Bulgaria, has launched in November 2021 its bookselling section and a complete ebook reader platform, using LCP as a DRM, accessible from Pocketbook e-readers and custom Readium based mobile apps.

Voxa has launched in Romania a very elegant subscription based platform offering ebooks and audiobooks, using LCP as a DRM, accessible from custom Readium based mobile apps.

Other deployments will soon be finalized in Romania (Grupul Editorial ART, Trei Editorial Group), Slovakia (CVTISR), Estonia (Beleven) and Mongolia (Steppelink).

In Canada and the USA

HarperCollins has launched in January 2022 a multimedia subscription service called Harlequin Plus, and developed iOS and Android apps based on Readium Mobile for this offer. All ebooks and audiobooks are protected by LCP.

pretnumerique.ca, operated by Bibliopresto (member of EDRLab), is a large e-lending platform in Canada. The ebooks and audiobooks provided by this platform are now protected by LCP and accessed via LCP compliant iOS and Android apps based on Readium Mobile. LCP protected content is distributed by companies like De Marque and Messageries-ADP.

BiblioVault serves more than 90 scholarly presses in the USA and contains digital files for more than 40,000 books. LCP protected ebooks are distributed since May 2021 to all students, with Thorium Reader as the recommended reading app on desktop.

The Palace Project, driven by Lyrasis and DPLA, has integrated LCP into its mobile apps and gives access to content hosted and served out by DeMarque with an LCP protection. The next step will be to provide an LCP protection for partner libraries.

In 2022, LibrarySimplified (SimplyE) and the Internet Archive are also developing LCP compliant e-lending solutions in the US.

NetGalley provides digital review copies to its subscribers. The ebooks offered for review by the main US publishers are now protected by LCP.

Gantec Publishing Solutions is a US solution provider for publishers, schools and higher education. Its ebooks2go platform has adopted LCP and has developed LCP compliant iOS and Android reading apps based on Readium Mobile.

Notion Wave Inc. (member of EDRLab), based in Ontario, Canada, is providing LCP as part of its KNiTO (knito.com) authoring, publishing, sales, and reader solution.

Rally Reader provides an innovative AI-powered service in the USA, which aims at improving children’s reading skills: its iOS app hears them read ebooks, identifies errors, and tracks accuracy on a word-by-word basis. All ebooks are protected by LCP.

In Latin America

Fênix Tecnologias Educacionais, from Brazil, is both a publishing house and a technological company. It is providing accessible ebooks for inclusive and quality education in Brazil and is developing an hybrid authoring and publishing platform (Timeline) and a learning and publishing platform (Educar.tech). It is integrating and promoting the use of LCP in education, e.g. for the Brazilian National Book Program .

In Africa

eKitabu is providing accessible digital content for inclusive and quality education in Rwanda and other African countries. eKitabu has developed a client/server solution which uses LCP for ebooks protection. This includes a Windows application based on Thorium Reader.

Nabu.org is providing free ebooks to children in Rwanda, Haiti and the Republic of Congo. Most of these ebooks are protected by LCP and the organization has developed LCP compliant iOS and Android mobile applications based on Readium Mobile for easy access to this content.

In Asia

The Shanghai Library (member of EDRLab) is the second largest public library in China. Its new e-lending platform is now using LCP and it has developed apps based on Readium Mobile.

Different organizations in Singapore (Big Crunch Digital and SUSS) and the Philippines (REX Digital Publishing) have also deployed – or are finalizing – an LCP setup.

LCP Technology Providers

These technologies providers (ordered alphabetically) have developed software or services compliant with Readium LCP. You can contact them for speeding your delivery of LCP compliant services.

De Marque (Canada)

De Marque (member of EDRLab) provides technical solutions to e-distributors and public libraries in different countries. Its Cantook Hub distribution platform is Readium LCP certified, which opens the way to the distribution of Readium LCP protected EPUB files in every distribution platform operated by Cantook servers, worldwide.

DITA (USA)

DITA (member of EDRLab) can develop white labelled LCP compliant mobile applications based on Readium Mobile.

See as an example: DITA Reader iOS, DITA Reader Android.

DRM Inside (Korea)

DRM Inside is a Korean company which develop protection SDKs for EPUB publications. Their OPENs application is a test application demonstrating the capabilities of their Readium LCP client SDK. It was first demonstrated during the 2017 EPUB Summit, in Brussels. Their CTO is co-editor (along with the EDRLab CTO) of the upcoming ISO standard based on Readium LCP. DRM Inside can help booksellers developing an LCP compliant platform.

EditionGuard (USA)

EditionGuard is a US solution provider for publishers. The company offers LCP protection and fulfillment for EPUB and PDF files.

Firsty Group (UK)

The UK based Firsty Group (member of EDRLab) is a digital development agency that works exclusively within publishing. It is specialized in eCommerce, direct to consumer websites and apps for publishers, retailers, aggregators, distributors, and authors – developing solutions designed to improve the commercial success of the business. Their team has experience in integrating LCP in distributions platforms and would be happy to help third parties.

noop (France)

The French based noop.fr company is a digital development agency specialised in audiovisual and publishing. Their team has experience in developing distribution platforms for movies and ebooks – both with DRM – and would be happy to help third parties.

Vivlio (France)

Vivlio is a French company which provides technical solutions to e-distributors; member of EDRLab since 2015, and since 2018 member of the board of EDRLab.

Vivlio has developed an LCP license server in Saas mode, under the brand CARE, used in France and Germany (by Divibib Onleihe; related post fr). The solution developed by Vivlio is 100% LCP compliant; it provides an additional automatic key retrieval feature, available if a publication is served from a Vivlio-powered retail server.

Readium LCP

Globally available reading systems