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if drm were totally eliminated tomorrow, the vast majority of people are still far too honest to immediately jump in and pirate TBs worth of ebooks. it just wouldn't happen. what these things do is treat everyone like scum and assume you're going to pirate the bejeezus out of something as quickly as your fingers allow you to. hell i could go online right this second and pirate any cd or dvd i want. i don't though because i'm generally honest and would rather go without than steal.
drm is a huge argument in the video game world now. many pc and console games are requiring a persistant online connection as a form of drm in order to play them. say your internet goes out, you're stuck with a $60 coaster until it comes back on. you cannot use the item you just paid for and legally own. its like not being able to use your tv if you don't pay your cable bill. or if your ereader required a constant online connection and you can't use it if your internet is down.
of course pirates have the drm cracked within minutes, often before the game is officially released and they're happily playing while legitimate consumers are stuck either twiddling their thumbs or they "go underground" and become part of the problem.
there have always been pirates. there will always be pirates. the industries themselves probably drive more people to piracy than anything else.
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