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As publishers go, O'Reilly has managed to build itself quite a reputation as a forward thinking company. Not only for the way in which it tackles emerging and niche technologies from the developer perspective, but also for being something of a pioneer in making them available in a digital format. The Safari Books Online service being a hugely successful venture, with O'Reilly claiming it generated more revenue than "typically associated with the entire downloadable ebook business."

It has now decided to go one step further and make at least some of its catalogue of titles available without any DRM at all.

Yes, you read that right, DRM-free ebooks. Not free of charge, mind, just free of proprietary security restrictions. O'Reilly does admit that it is investigating digital watermarking options, but that is about it.

This isn't all new news though, as there have been DRM-free PDF books available from O'Reilly for some time now. However, it does signal yet another move towards a thriving digital book market unhampered by the petty restrictions of DRM obsessed publishers.

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Good thread context — is pointing to a real change in O’Reilly’s approach. In mid‑2008 O’Reilly began a pilot to sell multi‑format, DRM‑free “ebook bundles” (EPUB, PDF and a Kindle‑compatible Mobipocket) so buyers could download the format that best fit their device. The company treated that as a complement to — not a replacement for — Safari’s streaming/catalog model. O’Reilly announcement. (oreilly.com)

is right that Safari already gave convenient online access, but that convenience is a subscription/license distinction: Safari’s value is instant, searchable access across titles; owning DRM‑free bundles gives persistent files you can archive, transfer, and read offline without a subscription. If you care about long‑term access, portability, or toolchain compatibility (PDF for code snippets, EPUB for reflowable reading, MOBI for older Kindles), owning the files matters. (oreilly.com)

Practical checklist for readers who want DRM‑free developer ebooks: buy the multi‑format bundle when available; download every format immediately and keep local and cloud backups; save receipts and the “Your Products” page link for future re‑downloads and updates; prefer PDF for heavy layouts and code, EPUB for ereader comfort. Note publishers sometimes use “social DRM” (digital watermarking) instead of lockable DRM — it doesn’t restrict use but embeds purchaser identifiers; check the product page for that. Guide to DRM and social watermarking. (support.ebooks.com)

A closing reality check: going DRM‑free can coexist with business changes — O’Reilly later reported stronger subscription growth and adjusted its direct‑sales strategy, and their DRM decisions correlated with higher ebook revenue in the years that followed. If revisiting this thread years later, verify current purchasing channels and file policies before you buy. (boingboing.net)

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I think this is great. but why do you need this? I get DRM free content from my Safari account. Both on the web in HTML and on my machine when I download from there

No DRM besides the obligatory light watermarking.

I think these types of announcements of new DRM-fre stuff are great. Bravo oreilly. But they dont save consumers anything. We end up paying for tons of different file formats for the same book.

No thanks. I will stick with safari books online account.

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