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Originally Posted by tompe
Things that have been mentioner are for example donation models
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Donations? Well, I don’t know how you earn your living, but I doubt that you live by donations. I am sure you expect a good payment for your efforts at work. So why do would you think an author or publisher should expect less?
If you want to read a book – pay for it or don’t read it. It’s simple and plain. If you want that bagel for breakfast, pay for it or simply only enjoy the view of it. But you certainly won't eat it and “donate” some coins to the baker. And likewise an author don’t want to receive donations but a payment for his work.
Fine. Nothing wrong with that. If I mail order something I get often billed later for it. I first receive the good (or service) and pay my bills later. That’s OK of course. But the author or publisher has to be able to get you before a court of justice if you won’t pay what you owe him. This is almost impossible if you live in Sweden and download an ebook from the U.S. or Germany. And how will this payment option prevent you from spreading an unconceivable amount of illegitimate copies of that book all over the world? It would still need some kind of copy protection.
Well, if an author or publisher decides to use that kind of a promotion, fine. But I doubt that will become something common. If you go to a new department store, supermarket or car dealer, do you really expect them to give you the first item free? I don’t think so. Book clubs and subscription provider use this kind of promotion very often. But than you will commit yourself to buy a certain amount of books in the future. If you will do that, fine. But again: How will this payment option prevent you from spreading an unconceivable amount of illegitimate copies of that book all over the world? It would still need some kind of copy protection.
What kind of remuneration do you mean?
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Also why think that just because you cannot think of something plausible now there will not be something that works very well in the future?
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There might very well be something that works. I have never doubted that. But right now there are two problems to be addressed: First, the author/publisher want to get paid for his work. And second, since unprotected ebooks can be copied without any limit, there needs to be some kind of restriction on how you can handle that ebook when it comes to copying.
Some of your suggestions are fine, but they are no solution to the second problem.
Alan