|
I used to buy books for a large, university library back in the 1970's and even back then the publishers were grumbling (though not very loudly) about libraries lending their titles for free and thereby costing them sales.
The problem seems to be that publishers are trying to apply their old p-book business model to e-books, which are admittedly, far easier to copy, to lend without giving up the "original" and other things which appear to the publishers and the authros to be risks to their rights and ability to sell additional copies.
What's needed is a completely new business model for e-books - how they are sold, what rights transfer with a sale, and how to limit (reasonably) the rights transferred when someone lends or re-sells an e-book they have bought and paid for. As an e-book purchaser, I'd like to see pricing that reflects the bundle of rights I'm actually getting, plus the ability to make some "fair use" copies of a page or two, or even a paragraph or two, as I can with a p-book, plus the right to loan or re-sell my purchased books (perhaps in a somewhat "limited" form to reflect the second-hand nature of the transaction).
Seems to me that this would make an interesting "case study" for the folks at Harvard B-School (or any other B-School that uses cases). Whoever comes up with a decent business model for e-books is going to be a very successful business person, but at present no one seems to be working on it. Any ideas?
|