The Norwegian edition of Apple’s iBookstore might be launched in Norway soon. 17. November there will be held a information meeting between Apple’s agent in Norway, eBokNorden, and Norwegian publishers.

Sjur Mossige, eBokNorden, has not got a definitive date for when iBooks will launch in Norway, but it seems to happen before Christmas. Something that will be long before the Norwegian industry solution for e-books is ready, a solution that has been postponed several times and is expected to first be ready around March next year.

Funny thing is that because Apple is a foreign company, it means that they will be able to sell Norwegian e-books without tax until 1. July next year. The iBookstore address will be in Luxembourg, and Apple will like other foreign companies be able to sell digital services without VAT in Norway until the new tax rules take effect.

The interest from the small, independent publishers is big, and it seems that many of them are welcoming this marketplace and look at it as an opportunity to increase sales of their books, Mossige said to Norwegian Bok & Samfunn.

My take is that it is extremely unfortunate that we have such an incompetent publishing industry in Norway. Their Adobe DRM-based has been more or less ready for half a year now, but still not launched. Apple is now getting a 3-4 months advantage, making them able to establish themselves and gain market shares that it will be hard for the Norwegian publishing industry to take back. Books bought on iBooks will also have another DRM solution incompatible with Adobe’s ADEPT DRM. The books will therefor be completely locked to iOS devices.

Update: iBookstore is available in Norway, and I have bought my first iBook!