One thought that the publishing industry would be able to cull lessons from the experience of the music industry and preempt some of the mistakes that were made. One example of a mistake would be the pursuit and suing of end-user consumers. Other questionable solutions that were tried in the music industry include proprietary DRM solutions and multiple licensing arrangements with different music vendors.
As we now approach critical mass of e-book readers we are witnessing the emergence of broad instances of digital text or e-book piracy. Initially this piracy was limited to a few relatively unknown and highly technical sites. Most of these sites offered primarily technical literature or limited numbers of textbooks and novels. However, with the recent emergence of larger numbers of e-book readers there has been significant growth and spread of digital book piracy. Industry sources suggest that the growth of piracy is now exponential and out of control. According to PCWorld there are "virtual bookshelves stuffed with pirated e-book titles ranging from copyrighted popular fiction and nonfiction to college textbooks and how to e-books" which are downloadable and readable on any of the current e-book readers (e.g. Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, Barnes & Noble Nook, or the computer).
The various players in the publishing industry each have a different stake vested in piracy of digital texts. Setting ethics aside (if one legitimately can do that) the increase in piracy creates a large opportunity and rapid growth of the eReader device market. This growth spurs innovation, increases profitability, and drives down the cost of the eReaders via the learning curve effect (lower cost per volume). Publishers and authors, on the other hand are being harmed economically by the piracy. They're responding with attempts at DRM protocols. They have not engaged in widescale prosecution efforts, although they have targeted specific piracy sites and operations. They are also exploring opportunities to combat piracy or creative pricing schemes that will provide quality legitimate e-books at prices that will be attractive to the market. E-books may also prove to be more popular with a segment of the population that cares more about ethics and economics, leaving piracy to serve only a small segment of the market.
The battle lines are still forming in the revolution in transformation of the publishing industry. The structure of the outcome is uncertain, yet we know for sure that e-books and eReaders will become more popular rapidly.
What is your opinion on the evolution of this aspect of the industry and the roles, actions, and reactions of the various industry participants? Would you buy a pirated e-book? We look forward to seeing your comments.
Mitch
Source of PCWorld quote: http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/330902/e-book_piracy_publishing_industry_next_epic_saga_/
