Amazon Changes How Copyright Protection Is Applied To Kindle Direct’s Self-Published E-Books
Kindle DRM changes let authors offer EPUB and PDF ebooks, raising new concerns across the publishing community.
Matilda
Amazon Changes How Copyright Protection Is Applied To Kindle Direct’s Self-Published E-Books Kindle DRM Shift Sparks Author Debate: Amazon Opens EPUB and PDF Access Amazon’s latest Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) update is reshaping one of the most searched topics among indie writers: how DRM affects e-book access, formats, and author control . Beginning January 20, 2026, Amazon will allow self-published authors to distribute their DRM-free books in EPUB and PDF formats—an expansion that could make it easier for readers to access content across devices. But the change also introduces new questions about copyright protection, file sharing, and how much control authors truly have over their work. Within hours of the announcement, the publishing community was already split, raising concerns that this shift may have unintended consequences. Credit: Amazon Amazon Expands DRM-Free Options With EPUB and PDF Support Amazon confirmed that authors who label their titles as DRM-free will automatically gain EPUB and PDF availability at launch. The company framed the update as a way to give rea…