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Dedicated e-book gizmos: A shopping guide—plus some telling words on DRM and the DMCA
November 5, 2007 | 10:59 am
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By David Rothman
DearAuthor has a handy little holiday shopping guide for people looking for e-book gizmos—with mention of the $110 eBookwise machine, and then a comparison of E Ink devices: the new Sony Reader PRS-505 ($299), the Bookeen Cybook Gen3 ($350) and the iLiad ($699).
Here hoping that the NAEB E Ink-based reader will be along shortly, and the Kindle, too. And remember to consider e-book-friendly PDAs such as the Palm TX.
The DRM-hardware-DMCA issue: Going by specs—as far as I know Jane hasn’t tried a Cybook Gen3—she recs “the Sony Reader for PC users and the Bookeen for Mac users but only because Bookeen supports the Mobipocket format. The problem with DRM is that it prevents consumers from actually buying the best device for their dollar…” Amen! Jane goes on to note that “A PC user can avail herself of the Lit books (using a lit conversion program) that is available at nearly every e-book store but a Mac user cannot.”
DRM and the DMCA as laughingstocks
Now let’s apply a little context. In the States, it’s still illegal under the DMCA even for lawful owners of e-book to break encryption of lit or another format unless they’re disabled or otherwise qualify for exemptions. And yet here’s Jane–ethical and certainly no criminal–rather casually and publicly mentioning that you can build DRM-cracking into your e-device purchase plans.
Just what does that tell you about both DRM and the out-of-touch politicians in Washington, D.C., who passed the DMCA? DRM and the accompanying laws are the New Prohibition, a laughingstock.
Actually this isn’t so funny after all. I shudder to think that so many in the e-book industry are building their business plans around a technology that consumers hate, especially the brighter ones like Jane—the very people most likely to be heavy readers. I strongly support the idea of DRM standards and the right of publishers to use DRM if they want, but shouldn’t big publishers be more open to experimentation with nonencrypted books than they are now?
Related: Locking up Dickens: Why DRM is a lit and biz toxin, my latest Publishers Weekly post.
Technorati Tags: eBookwise , Sony Reader , PRS-505 , Cybook Gen3 , iLiad , NAEB , PALM TX
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Comments:
The thing about the widespread, silly use of DRM is that it turns us all into felons, and actually serves to increase the general knowledge of how to circumvent such schemes.
I have a laptop that doesn’t have a built-in optical drive, and many of the games I want to play on it — that I went out and paid $50-$60 for — won’t play without the CD in the drive. Thanks to nonsense like that, I know far more than I ever wanted to at this stage in my life about nocd cracks and the various methods such DRM uses.
Same thing with DVDs. Personally, I’d like that DVD of Monsters, Inc. that I bought for my kids to last more than a few months, but it won’t with my kids. So I made a backup copy. Oops…federal felon right there.
And, of course, we’ve gotten to the absurdity with intellectual property that it is almost impossible not to commit an IP crime. Prince is upset because someone posts a short video of their toddler zooming around to “Lets Go Crazy.” Well, crap, I have all sorts of pictures and videos of my kids online that all contain potentially copyright infringing and legally actionable materials.
Nothing has served the “information wants to be free” folks better than the IP industry’s “every last bit of information needs to be locked up” approach.
Brian, I hope you visit my PW blog and paste in exactly what you just wrote—to help educate publishers. Great example. Thanks. David
DMCA does not prohibit the breaking of encryption for “fair use”, see http://w2.eff.org/IP/DMCA/US_v_Elcomsoft/us_v_elcomsoft_faq.html#IllegalInUSA
So, in the States it MIGHT be legal to break the DRM on a purchased e-book for the purpose of reading the e-book on a device that does not support the copy-protected version. This has never been tested in court, and probably never will be. Note that if this is illegal, then so is converting between two unencrypted e-book formats (without permission of the copyright holder) for the same purpose. Most people would do this without a 2nd thought.
Thanks, Alan. Despite some recent exemptions, the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA are still creating hell for consumers—even owners of legally purchased products. Remember, we’re not talking about just format conversion per se (a different issue) but about bypassing of holy DRM tech. That said, I do notice that by some interpretations the anti- circumvention provisions might not cover private usage. Just the providing of software or the how-to’s. So you might be on to something. Still left open is the issue or whether Jane would have technically violated the law by spreading word of the existence of the cracking programs. If I can get time, I’m going to call or e-mail the copyright office so we can get the exact answer from the horse’s mouth. Thanks. – David
Addendum: Below is some language from the DMCA suggesting that the mere ACT of circumvention—not just supplying the tools or information–is illegal. Even this isn’t a definitive answer since I’m not quoting from the entire DMCA. But if nothing else, the act makes things rather problematic. My advice would be to play it safe and NOT circumvent unless the copyright office specifically says you can. Do you know of a specific format-conversion exemption? I’m on your side. In fact, I see all these ifs as one more reason for abolishing the nastier provisions of the DMCA. – David
‘‘CHAPTER 12—COPYRIGHT PROTECTION AND
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
‘‘Sec.
‘‘1201. Circumvention of copyright protection systems.
‘‘1202. Integrity of copyright management information.
‘‘1203. Civil remedies.
‘‘1204. Criminal offenses and penalties.
‘‘1205. Savings clause.
‘‘§ 1201. Circumvention of copyright protection systems
‘‘(a) VIOLATIONS REGARDING CIRCUMVENTION OF TECHNOLOGICAL
MEASURES.—(1)(A) No person shall circumvent a technological
measure that effectively controls access to a work protected
under this title. The prohibition contained in the preceding sentence
shall take effect at the end of the 2-year period beginning on the
date of the enactment of this chapter.
‘‘(B) The prohibition contained in subparagraph (A) shall not
apply to persons who are users of a copyrighted work which is in
a particular class of works, if such persons are, or are likely to be
in the succeeding 3-year period, adversely affected by virtue of such
prohibition in their ability to make noninfringing uses of that particular
class of works under this title, as determined under subparagraph
(C).
‘‘(C) During the 2-year period described in subparagraph (A),
and during each succeeding 3-year period, the Librarian of Congress,
upon the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, who
shall consult with the Assistant Secretary for Communications and
Information of the Department of Commerce and report and comment
on his or her views in making such recommendation, shall
make the determination in a rulemaking proceeding on the record
for purposes of subparagraph (B) of whether persons who are users
of a copyrighted work are, or are likely to be in the succeeding 3-
year period, adversely affected by the prohibition under subparagraph
(A) in their ability to make noninfringing uses under this title
of a particular class of copyrighted works. In conducting such rulemaking,
the Librarian shall examine—
The EFF link I referenced was last updated in 2002. A more recent reference (Dec. 2005) is http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/copyrightoffice/DMCA_rulemaking_broken.pdf
Which says (1st page): “According to some courts, the DMCA forbids bypassing DRM even where necessary to make lawful uses of copyrighted materials.”
I have the ebookwise device and I loved it until I broke it. Now my I have to buy another one and I can’t transfer my ebook purchases to a different device.
g.