Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
Although I wouldn't go so far as to change the text of a book for every downloader... if the intent is to make each e-book unique, you can work out a way to embed the purchaser's name in the book, say, in the dedication section (Thank you for buying this book, Sparrow!).
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I think that might be a bit obvious and easy to molest.
The way I thought it might be done is:
a) produce your text
b) select maybe a hundred candidate punctuations/words, throughtout the text, for random change (e.g. comma to semi-colon, one verb for another etc.) and supply a list of alternates
c) a randomiser utility could apply the random change to each download
d) log the 'signature' for that download against the purchaser's record
e) record the signature/customer on a centralised cross-publisher database, which can record whatever infringements are noted - the seriousness of a purchaser's infringements can determine the resultant action.
It seems strange to suggest 'mutilating' the text - but it need only be subtle.
Comparing two seperate editions of any classic text would show plenty of such examples - so there is nothing sacrosanct about even those books.
If someone tried to 'crack' it they'd have to find the candidates within the text, or make loads of changes to obliterate them. Either that or buy more copies to run a comparison :-)