Apple has updated the End User Licensing Agreement (EULA) for its iBooks Author app, clarifying its terms and ownership conditions.

Immediately after its release, the EULA for iBooks Author was torn apart by the tech press and copyright analysts. The original wording stated that authors would only be able to sell books created in iBooks Author in Apple's iBookstore.

The broadness of the terms made it appear Apple was claiming ownership of the content generated in iBooks Author.

With the 1.0.1 update [Mac App Store link], the language in the EULA is now much more clear on what Apple's actual policies.

Here is the old agreement:

B. Distribution of your Work. As a condition of this License and provided you are in compliance with its terms, your Work may be distributed as follows: if your Work is provided for free (at no charge), you may distribute the Work by any available means.

(ii) if your Work is provided for a fee (including as part of any subscription-based product or service), you may only distribute the Work through Apple and such distribution is subject to the following limitations and conditions:

(a) you will be required to enter into a separate written agreement with Apple (or an Apple affiliate or subsidiary) before any commercial distribution of your Work may take place; and (b) Apple may determine for any reason and in its sole discretion not to select your Work for distribution.

This is the new agreement:

B. Distribution of Works Generated Using the iBooks Author Software. As a condition of this License and provided you are in compliance with its terms, works generated using iBooks Author may be distributed as follows:

(i) if the work is provided for free (at no charge), you may distribute it by any means;

(ii) if the work is provided for a fee (including as part of any subscription-based product or service) and includes files in the .ibooks format generated using iBooks Author, the work may only be distributed through Apple, and such distribution will be subject to a separate written agreement with Apple (or an Apple affiliate or subsidiary); provided, however, that this restriction will not apply to the content of the work when distributed in a form that does not include files in the .ibooks format generated using iBooks Author. You retain all your rights in the content of your works, and you may distribute such content by any means when it does not include files in the .ibooks format generated by iBooks Author.

The new agreement makes it clear that Apple is only claiming sales exclusivity for the .ibooks format. If a user wants to tapiBooks Author to create a PDF version of an eBook, that PDF can be sold in any online bookstore, not just iBooks.

Users can only sell .ibooks formatted books within the iBookstore.

Apple further clarifies that "you retain all your rights in the content of your works."

We're glad that Apple clarified the terms of conditions on the software. While it's clear the main goal in creating the software was to foster the creation of ebooks in the .ibooks format, the tool is easy to use and stacks up well against the competition.

Are you glad Apple clarified the iBooks Author EULA? Sound off in the comments below.