MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Engst to Pogue: E-Book piracy not a given

AMacD · 06-06-2008, 08:13 PM

Many people think that a stolen copy is a lost sale, when many pirates are just collectors and would not have purchased the copy under any circumstance. I know someone who downloaded 300 CDs worth of MP3 music. He not only would not have bought them, he COULD not have bought them. I am sure he has not listened to them all either. I don't know how anyone would calculate the "lost revenue" from something that wouldn't have generated any revenue in the first place because no one knows which copies were a lost opportunity. Even if we adopt "Social DRM", that part will be stripped out and on the net before the ink in dry. I also think we need to refuse to buy any book that doesn't absolutely state up front whether is is crippled with DRM or not. Sort of like marking our food as non-GMO, no?

06-06-2008, 08:13 PM	#20
AMacD Al Posts: 66 Karma: 140 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bardstown, KY as home base, but RV following the seasons. Device: Kindle1 and Kindle2 and Palm T\|X	Many people think that a stolen copy is a lost sale, when many pirates are just collectors and would not have purchased the copy under any circumstance. I know someone who downloaded 300 CDs worth of MP3 music. He not only would not have bought them, he COULD not have bought them. I am sure he has not listened to them all either. I don't know how anyone would calculate the "lost revenue" from something that wouldn't have generated any revenue in the first place because no one knows which copies were a lost opportunity. Even if we adopt "Social DRM", that part will be stripped out and on the net before the ink in dry. I also think we need to refuse to buy any book that doesn't absolutely state up front whether is is crippled with DRM or not. Sort of like marking our food as non-GMO, no?