ISBN Definition and the Question, Who Owns the ISBN?

Hi.

I've participated in many on-line conversations about ISBNs lately and wanted to share some information with you.

ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number which is a commercial identifier for books. I have included the definition according to Diane Shired, CTM, from the Birds-Eye.Net website:

"Meaning of ISBN - "International Standard Book Number", is a commercial identifier for books. The ISBN is 10 or 13 digits long and it uniquely identifies internationally published books and book-like products. The number consists of 4 to 5 parts:

1. If a 13 digits ISBN, the number has a 978 or 979 prefix EAN (European Article Number) that ensures no two starts the same
2. Country or Language Code (0, 1 =English; 2 = French; and so on. Can be up to 5 digits)
3. Publisher (assigned by the agency)
4. Item Number
5. Check Digit (a single digit computed from other digits) if 10 it’s replaced by “X”

There are many ISBN agencies worldwide; each agent has the exclusive right to assign ISBNs to publishers in their area/territory. For instances, the United States agency is the only one authorized to assign ISBNs to publishers within the U.S., Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and all its territories. Once the agency assigns an ISBN to a publisher, then that publisher can assigned the number to their publications. The publisher cannot re-assign, re-sell, transfer or split their assigned numbers with other publishers.

The ISBN system was established in 1996 in the United Kingdom by W.H. Smith. It was originally SBN (Standard Book Numbering) that was used until the mid-seventies. However, the International Standard (ISO) 2108, ISBN was introduced in 1970."

Thanks Diane for the definition. Here in Canada, the Canadian ISBN Service System (CISS)allocates numbers to publishers/ePublishers (at no charge) who in turn assign them to books/eBooks that they are publishing. At eBookGuides4Life.com, an ISBN is assigned to all eBooks listed on the site regardless of whether it has one from a previous publisher. The ISBN belongs to the ePublisher, not the Author or the eBook. So, heads up for those folks that are being charged for an ISBN, it may not even belong to you, depending on the country you ePublish in. I am continually looking for information on how this is handled in other countries and welcome the input from you.

Yours in ePublishing,
Lori