Comments on: “Why I break DRM on e-books”: A publishing exec speaks out

By: mi737373

mi737373 — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 18:03:20 +0000

Except you will not necissarily spend your money on non DRM material. A friend will send it to you and it will go viral for no money. You are gaming the content provider on the basis of your convenience. without DRM of some kind (which I mentioned in first response) content providers potentially work for free to appease supposedly well meaning folks like you who will of course always pay for their content even if it is free all over the itnernet. I wonder if you are willing to do your job on the basis of hey, most people will pay for most of my work. Doesn’t work well in the digital world. Non DRM is not the answer. A one platform ebook (sticking to books for now) with DRM tracking and limited downloads may be.

By: Richard M Stallman

Richard M Stallman — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:27:51 +0000

When the anonymous executive speaks of “respecting IP rights”, he repeats a common confusion. What he means is “copyright”, and calling it “intellectual property” confuses that with several other unrelated laws.

See http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/not-ipr.html for more explanation.

Whether copyright law itself deserves to be “respected” is a complex question, but at least it is a meaningful question.

By: Library Director

Library Director — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:40:28 +0000

There has not been any mention of what DRM is doing to libraries all over the world. It has only been about 6 months that Amazon has even worked with public libraries and there are, increasingly, more publishers who refuse to sell us ebooks. As it is, we have only one vendor (Overdrive) that’s negotiating with Amazon/publishers on our behalf, and we’re paying higher prices than the average consumer with no control over the content: If Overdrive went out of business, the $100K my library has spent on e-books would be lost, since the big publishers are unwilling to transfer the licenses to the purchasing library. Needless to say, we are strong advocates of DRM removal.

By: jonathan

jonathan — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:40:44 +0000

You don’t believe Exec exists because s/he displays ‘ignorance’ and doesn’t know ‘what it means to be a publisher’ (i.e., you disagree with herm)? And then you write a sentence about an “e-publishing garden” full of “branded interface-experiences?”
Kettle, meet pot.
Now I’m fairly certain you don’t exist either.

By: Guillaume

Guillaume — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 07:40:00 +0000

“I want to be clear about how I’ve been using these unlocked books. I’m not [...] even sharing them with family or friends.”

Whoah, sharing it with your family ? Now this would really be evil ! I hope if your wife looks over your shoulder you prevent her, after all she isn’t licensed for this book…

By: Bob

Bob — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:53:25 +0000

“Do I feel “evil”? No, not really. If I was giving these books away, I would, but I’m the only person using them.”

Do you feel “evil” when you visit a library?

By: Jerry

Jerry — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:18:15 +0000

Correct, it is the publisher’s right to sell^d offer ebooks with or without DRM. It’s my right as a customer is to choose to spend my money on those without.

By: myelbowsonthetable

myelbowsonthetable — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 19:16:39 +0000

This is why I simply won’t buy anything with DRM, not a book, or music. That way I don’t need to use my time or tools to break it.

By: myelbowsonthetable

myelbowsonthetable — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 19:14:49 +0000

I simply won’t buy something with DRM, including music. That way. . . I don’t have to worry about using my available tools to break it.

By: Just Mohit

Just Mohit — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:45:55 +0000

Factual, but not entirely true! Amazon developed, and applied the DRM, because otherwise the publishing industry wouldn’t have let them sell ebooks at all. They had to develop a whole ecosystem, because of the industry’s reluctance to allow this market to develop. (case in point: various e-readers had been around for years before kindle, but the non-availability of books you wanted to read, coupled with high prices set by the industry ensured you’d never buy an e-reader). Amazon continues to make losses because of the industry’s reluctance to forgo margins on their products.