I have heard quite a bit of buzz in the "ebook" industry (particularly since the release of the Kindle) specific to the negative restriction of DRM in the current consumption of digital books. I think this mainly refers to the fact that the Big 2 devices (Sony and Kindle) as well as a variety of ebook applications have DRM rules that make it difficult or impossible to transfer the content from device to device or render the content on any device you choose.
I also hear, in a variety of business development conversations, that publishers are becoming more and more concerned about the lack of ultra-strict DRM in some ebook distribution channels. This includes the ability (when consuming digital content in a computing environment) to copy/paste, save, print, etc. Publishers are asking these channels to build more limitations so that they feel comfortable that their content is not being compromised.
It is obvious that there is a level of DRM that a publisher would need and expect so that there is limited fear of piracy. On the other side, it is apparent that DRM can not only serve as a deterrent to copyright violation, but it can also serve as a deterrent to the adoption of digital content at a mainstream level.
I hope that we can, as an industry, come up with solutions to DRM that will properly address real concerns of piracy, as well as ease the burdon of use for end users.
I also hear, in a variety of business development conversations, that publishers are becoming more and more concerned about the lack of ultra-strict DRM in some ebook distribution channels. This includes the ability (when consuming digital content in a computing environment) to copy/paste, save, print, etc. Publishers are asking these channels to build more limitations so that they feel comfortable that their content is not being compromised.
It is obvious that there is a level of DRM that a publisher would need and expect so that there is limited fear of piracy. On the other side, it is apparent that DRM can not only serve as a deterrent to copyright violation, but it can also serve as a deterrent to the adoption of digital content at a mainstream level.
I hope that we can, as an industry, come up with solutions to DRM that will properly address real concerns of piracy, as well as ease the burdon of use for end users.
2 comments:
DRM is kind of like viewing that chart of man evolving from a sea creature into an ape, caveman, and finally into the good looking dude we all know and love today. Publishers have left the sea right now but are somewhere between the ape and the caveman. DRM is the safety net necessary for most publishers to get their ass out of the sea in the first place. The scales will fall and the hair will grow and soon will walk erect.
Sorry to resurrect a dead topic, but it is my contention that content publishers (of all digital types) have to learn to accept a certain level of "piracy". Consider the case of two friends sharing a digital file, and compare it with a backdoor company that is mass-producing and selling someone else's content (for profit or not). Although they both lie on the same slippery slope, they are not the same issue, and I don't think it's wise for content distributors to treat them as such.
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