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Adobe’s Bill McCoy on ‘social DRM’
February 7, 2007 | 12:39 pm
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By David Rothman
“For eBooks, I really like the ‘social DRM’ approach of The Pragmatic Programmers, who ‘stamp’ PDF eBooks with a ‘For the Exclusive Use of …’ and the name of the purchaser.” – Adobe e-booker Bill McCoy in the wake of Steve Jobs’ anti-DRM statements.
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Comments:
I really like that idea as well, but I have to say I have see a lot of books on warez sites that are these social DRMed books with the social DRM part “This book created for xxx” removed.
Hi, Brian. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Questions:
1. I’m against piracy, but practically speaking, how many sales are such sites stealing away from legit sellers? I wonder how many of the users of the pirate sites would buy legit copies anyway.
2. Shouldn’t we consider not only sales lost to pirates but also those lost because users didn’t want to mess with the inconveniences of DRM?
Thanks,
David
DRM is a problem. I have multiple devices I read eBooks on and don’t like to be locked out of any of them. But I think we should recognize the piracy is a huge problem as well. Most authors, and at least the small publishers, are struggling to stay afloat in this business. Admittedly some of the stolen copies would never have been bought, but others would have been.
Unfortunately, many people seem to have no guilt about stealing digital media. I wish the answer would be as easy as customizing the cover but I think Brian raises a good point–it’s easy to ignore or disable those covers.
I don’t DRM my books on BooksForABuck.com, but I recognize that this does expose me–and my authors–to the danger of piracy (just because I think this is the best currently available option doesn’t mean I like everything about it)
Rob Preece
Publisher, http://www.BooksForABuck.com
I’m not convinced that ebook piracy is a significant source of problems for authors and publishers, rather than an effect of the current state of the market. Speaking personally, if prices on all eBooks were as low as they are at BooksForABuck.com, I would be willing to pay for nicely formatted (and proofread) non-DRM eBook versions even of books I already own in paper. As it stands, I think twice about buying eBooks with any DRM, and some eBook prices actually exceed the cost of the paperback versions of the same title. I know quite a few people who buy a paper copy and then download the ebook version from “warez” sources, to avoid price-gouging and DRM both. And many titles are only available in eBook format from such sites.
I think “social DRM” would be quite sufficient to stop most people from passing along or seeking illicit copies in a more consumer-friendly environment.
Hi, Rob. I’ve enjoyed your TeleBlog comments even when I disagree with them. I’m curious if you’d be willing to experiment with “social DRM” on some titles with the author’s permission. You could then see if it did reduce piracy rates. I know your heart’s in the right place, Rob, and I appreciate your writing in. Very best of luck with your company. David
Hi David,
Thanks for the note and for the good wishes for the business. I’ve recently made TeleRead part of my daily ritual–just what I need, more stuff before I get to do what I make money at–and appreciate all the work you’ve put into it.
Just to make myself clear, I do not use any DRM on the books I offer (except that I do use the required DRM for the books I sell through Mobipocket). I participate in Fictionwise’s MultiFormat program rather than their secure eBooks program. (Multiformat being their non-encrypted side).
Right now, I think doing the Social DRM thing of ‘for the exclusive use of’ is a little programming-heavy for me. I’m still struggling to bring my HTML into the 21st century. But if anyone has easy suggestions that would programatically create this kind of personalization–launched by a PayPal purchase–I’d love to see the specs. One thing for sure–it couldn’t hurt to remind people that they’re breaking the rules and hurting the authors if they e-mail eBooks to the world.
Rob Preece
Publisher, http://www.BooksForABuck.com
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