That's not quite correct, the way I understand it.
Most ebooks now sold at Amazon for the Kindle, are in the KFX proprietary format, and have DRM, which is still problematic when there are some with no DRM, as you need to use calibre with the required KFX addon if you want to convert to a more usable format. So those few are kind of DRM-Free, requiring effort etc to make them fully so.

DRM-Free as far as I am aware, does not only mean no simultaneous usage restrictions, though if DRM-Free that is a given in reality. An ebook can have no simultaneous usage restrictions, and yet still have DRM. The publisher or author decides what the simultaneous usage restrictions are. The default is 6 copies, but for some ebooks it can be just 1 copy (i.e. a Medical text used by students).

P.S. I still sometimes end up with a MOBI file from Amazon, instead of a KFX file. I just presume they have been overlooked maybe, or just toward the end of the queue for updating to KFX.

Hi. Could you please tell me the title of one of the DRM free ebooks you are referring to?

A Fire Upon The Deep, Some of the Best from Tor.com: 2019 Edition.

Both from the same publisher (Tor), the second one should be free. I think I have one or two more, but can't remember their titles now.


Edit: Baen Books also sell their ebooks without DRM on Amazon, and they offer some of their titles for free.

I did download the second ebook you listed above (the free one) and saw that it did have the disclaimer "At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied." When I loaded it directly into Calibre with the DeDRM plugin disabled, I get the message "This book is locked by DRM". When I enable the DeDRM plugin I am able to view the ebook. So I'm not sure what's going on.

Yep.

Though even now they talk about the possibility of tablets and phones, maybe even PCs getting an E-Ink screen, once they solve the color side of it. They are great for saving on power, which would have a big impact for all sorts of devices.
Do you have the KFX input plugin installed?

By the way, I have not yet actually tested what I understand to be the case, as I always have all plugins installed and active when adding ebooks to calibre. So if I am wrong, just see me as the messenger, and blame my informants at the Mobile Read Forum. ha ha ha

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rise from the dead, o fallen thread!
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Jokes aside, I feel this update about ComiXology is important to share here: Source: https://support.comixology.com/hc/en-us/articles/4407002667415

Looks like ComiXology's store will be shut down to merge with Amazon, so either Amazon will start selling DRM free ebooks openly, or ComiXology will discard the DRM free ebooks to follow Amazon's business model.
But since I have yet to find even one of Amazon's ebooks that are actually DRM free, despite reports I've seen of there being such DRM free contents there, I feel like it's the latter that will happen.
Because of that, I suggest getting the ebooks you want from there before it's too late, and make sure you download the files and keep the back up safe too!

ComiXology's page dedicated to their DRM free works: https://www.comixology.com/DRM-Free-Comics/page/2794

Thanks for the update. Glad I never trusted it to use. RIP DRM-free comics [the few there were]. It also didn't help that you couldn't tell what was DRM-free and not.

According to their support, you can by checking the icons in the product's description, but these DRM free products seem pretty rare, so you likely almost never see them. And the site's layout doesn't help finding things unless it's something promoted by the site.

DRM-Free books are something you have to hunt for, unfortunately. Better to use Apprentice Alf's plugin to Calibre and just crack the DRM yourself.

For those who care, Simon & Schuster no longer offers DRM-free Star Trek books. There are only links to Amazon and other places. Older purchases should still be downloadable.

They do have "Buy from us" option with some of their other books though.

About the amazon drm, what I read here is not true at all. There is no default drm and KFX is not default on ebook.
I published an ebook with Amazon and I know for sure that you can decide if you want to use the drm or not (you cannot change that after you publish the ebook). If you don't use the drm the ebook will be in the azw format, a Mobi like format that you can convert in epub.
The main problem with Amazon is that you cannot tell if an ebook is drm free before you buy it. But since there is no real alternative for Italian digital Manga (the alternative got a worst drm) I just buy them and remove the drm (KFX is not used for manga so it's the more basic drm, you can also disable the KFX support on the Kindle desktop app or download a Kindle e-ink version from your account to avoid KFX... Also an old version of KFX drm can be removed already, so that will change in the near future).

PS. Tried again and right now you are right (it was not like that some months ago), my ebook without drm got the drm KFX format. I contacted amazon about the problem. I don't want drm on my ebook. I published it without drm for that reason. They forced the drm on my ebook.

Ps. If you got a Kindle e ink or you disable the KFX format it will still download the correct drm free format. Still I will try to make them remove the drm from my ebook. I only published on Amazon because I got the option to don't use drm, if they force it on my book I don't want my ebook on Amazon.

Best of luck with that. I know Tor Books, a big publisher, got into a fight with Amazon over DRM on their ebooks. Not sure how that turned out.

If you decide to forgo Amazon, then Smashwords is a great place for DRM-Free ebooks, and perhaps Amazon's main competitor, Kobo, who can provide DRM-Free downloads. At least with Smashwords, you can still provide Kindle formats ... though for sure, Calibre is the friend of purchasers for conversions.

Last time I tried other platforms I got into many problems like low royalties, minimum payout (I sell really few copies so I'm glad amazon pays even 1 cent without a minimum on my bank account) and other limitations. Right now kobo will only pay if you reach a minimum of 50$ that is a lot for my ebook. Maybe I'll try itch widget on my own website and link that on Amazon for those who want to buy the drm free version.
I'm still not sure, if I can solve this on Amazon I prefer that since I like it as a platform.

If you want maximum exposure, then Amazon is the store. Though personally, over time, they have mostly turned me off them now, angered me too many times, and so I always buy at Kobo now instead, if I can, even if it costs me a little more.

But then I am just a reader not author.