Saving Publishers, One Strategy at a Time

In view of the impact of online bookselling and self-publishing, technology commentator Guy Kawasaki thinks traditional trade publishers are in danger of going the way of the dodo. That’s the flightless bird eaten out of existence because it couldn’t adapt fast enough.

But, he says in a guest column for Publishing Perspectives, publishers who are able to “add value will profit and survive, and companies who don’t [will] wither and die.” He offers 10 strategies publishers can undertake to bring value to the process of developing, discovering, and distributing quality content.

Among those strategies are ditching the fight for digital rights management, a losing battle in Kawasaki’s view, and making it possible for print-book purchasers to receive a free copy of the electronic version every time they buy. The electronic version, of course, should be readable on any platform.

Kawasaki also thinks publishers need to support authors more, specifically by offering grants to help authors pay bills while they write, setting up a web marketplace for author services, and providing more assistance with marketing, especially in the social media realm. These strategies, he says, will not only boost the quality of books but also give publishers a better chance at unearthing standout authors.

The 10 strategies apply mostly to trade titles, not textbooks. However, given the recent hue and cry over open educational resources, the manner in which instructional materials are sourced and published is likely to shift. Cost concerns may force educational content to be published in smaller chunks that are not only cheaper and adaptable, but also produced by more freelance authors outside of academia.

Could Watermark Provide DRM Solution?

Publishers can’t be blamed for trying to safeguard their assets with digital rights management protection on their e-titles, particularly against large-scale file sharing.

The problem is DRM does not really deter anyone determined to share files, which led Dana Robinson, a adjunct professor of law at the University of San Diego School of Law and partner with Techlaw LLP, to propose a solution in an article for Digital Book World. His solution would be to create e-books with a watermark place throughout the book.

The e-book’s buyer would have to provide personal information for the watermark by agreeing to terms and conditions that would prohibit the resale or distribution of the title.

“The point of making a watermark that shows the user’s personal information is to create a disincentive for the user to pass the book along to unknown third parties, deputizing the user to act as a gatekeeper, protecting the book from wrongful distribution,” Robinson wrote, adding that removing the watermark could then be a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Robinson points out that his watermark solution would not prevent people from sharing their book with family or close friends, but that they’ve always done that with printed books. His watermark is aimed at individuals trying to gain financially from someone else’s work.

“What e-book publishers need is a way to distribute e-books with as little hassle as possible, while ensuring that the publisher can sue pirates and stop e-book sales, rental, and large-scale sharing,” he said.

No Love for Less Restrictive DRM Standard

A new idea for how to work with digital rights management (DRM) was posted recently on the International Digital Publishing Forum. Bill Rosenblatt of GiantSteps Media Technology Strategies proposed a “DRM-light” standard that would have some restrictions, but would not get in the way of a user’s experience, such as used with iTune’s FairPlay DRM.

While the middle course that tries to provide solutions to both publishers and users seems like a good idea, Chris Meadows, senior writer for TeleRead, just isn’t buying it.

Copyright holders see DRM as a benefit that protects their work. Meadows also points out that “DRM-light” would actually be a step back for publishers already committed to DRM-free titles.

“We don’t need a ‘kinder, gentler DRM,’” Meadows wrote in his TeleRead blog post. “It would only serve as a crutch to let media companies cling longer to the illusion that DRM is helpful. We can already crack DRM on e-books—or bypass it by scanning paper books in. DRM is no barrier to the tech-savvy, and only hinders the non-tech-savvy. It’s only a needless frustration. Admit it and move on.”

The DMCA turns 10

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the passing of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). In commemoration of the event, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) released a new report titled, “Unintended Consequences: Ten Years Under the DMCA”. DMCA has not always been well received by higher education, and as the EFF notes in their report, there have been a number of specific instances where the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was not used against copyright pirates but instead against legitimate activities conducted by consumers, scientists, and businesses. Over the years, EFF has fought against many DCMA suits in the name of free speech, privacy, innovation, and consumer rights. However, a posting on the Wired Blog provides a different perspective on the DCMA saying that it is often misunderstood and although it has caused problems and abuses, the internet would not be where it is today if it were not for the law. The posting notes,

“Blogs, search engines, e-commerce sites, video, and social-networking portals are thriving today thanks in large part to the notice-and-takedown regime ushered in by the much-maligned copyright overhaul.”

The posting goes on to say that even Google which also owns You Tube credits the DMCA for its success.

In the future, Congress could reopen the DMCA which will create an opportunity for reform but also an opportunity for the MPAA and RIAA to influence the law. We have already seen instances where the RIAA has influenced recent legislation, such as the reauthorization of the higher education act, which will now require institutions to perform some of the policing function for content providers that they have previously avoided. A reopening of the DMCA could have significant implications for DRM, and digital course materials. This presents both opportunities and challenges for the college store community, as well as much of the rest of higher education related to digital content and intellectual property.

Information on the basics of the DMCA, as well as links to the DMCA itself, are available through the UCLA Online Institute for Cyberspace Law and Policy, as well as other sources.

Tracking the origins of digital content

Just a small news clip today...

There was a piece on tracking the origins of digital content in Information Week recently. Tim-Berners-Lee won one of several grants, and his work will focus on developing a mechanism to determine the origins of a piece of content. I saw some other presentations not long ago focused on how to remove the anonymity from the web. Being able to authenticate who is contributing or generating content (or who is using it) is important from a remuneration perspective. I seem to recall some other projects working on this problem too -- ACAP maybe, with their interest in being able to track who is using the content produced by publishers, such as photos from People Magazine? Maybe this is more of the direction of future DRM -- remove anonymity and it becomes easier to track, but at what cost to society? Some of the comments to the article (particularly the first couple) are worth thinking about.

The Future of DRM

DRM -- that is Digital Rights Management for the lay person. DRM captures the set of technologies and business models for protecting intellectual property and that controls the uses and distribution of digital content.

There is an interesting article from the Wharton Business School today on the future of DRM from a business model perspective. It is an interesting read, along with some of the commentary offered by readers. The Wharton experts conclude that DRM is not going away, despite recent developments in the music industry. Instead, the DRM components will likely just become less intrusive. This is good or interesting news for those of us interested in digital course materials, where students have reported that current DRM approaches represent an obstacle to adoption.

The article can be found at: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1882