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Nabodita · 10-12-2014, 05:45 AM

No doubt this topic has been discussed to death but I wanted your opinions in one place.

Day after tomorrow, I have meetings with three publishers. None of them have the know-how to create indic language ebooks. There is one other company who provides this aggregation service but their material is Adobe DRM protected. Without going into too much detail, let me just say that this protection is in place not to protect the publisher; rather it's purpose is to protect the aggregation company itself who, at present, is enjoying a monopoly in this area.

In any case, before I talk to any of the publishers, I need to be convinced whether to use DRM or not. To be honest, incorporating DRM in the ebooks I aggregate will not really affect my workflow greatly. However, I would like to offer the publisher a solution which would be in their best interests... and to do that, I need to know which side of the fence I'm on.

In other words, help me out. Help me understand the pros and cons of DRM!

Let me start by saying that I am not in favour of DRM in ebooks (or any other media, for that matter) but I can understand that content copyright owners may feel it is necessary to employ DRM. In my opinion, piracy is the biggest publicity tool there is. I have countless books that I have purchased, either as an ebook or as a hard copy which I originally discovered on forums related to download sites. I'm also sure that many people are content with owning a pirated version of an ebook / movie / album and who will never actually spend money on something they have already acquired illegally. Am I in a minority, then? Do losses due to piracy outweigh the sales from people like me?

Another reason I'm not in favour of DRM is that I prefer complete control over the content I purchase. I don't want to have to use say, Digital Editions, to transfer my material between devices. I would like to back-up my purchases on my own external storage, not on some server somewhere. I admit, though, that this is a matter of personal preference and perhaps does not have any relevance while debating the need for DRM. What do you think?

10-12-2014, 05:45 AM	#1
Nabodita Connoisseur Posts: 97 Karma: 44418 Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Mostly in my own head! Device: Kindle Fire, iPad	Arguments For And Against DRM No doubt this topic has been discussed to death but I wanted your opinions in one place. Day after tomorrow, I have meetings with three publishers. None of them have the know-how to create indic language ebooks. There is one other company who provides this aggregation service but their material is Adobe DRM protected. Without going into too much detail, let me just say that this protection is in place not to protect the publisher; rather it's purpose is to protect the aggregation company itself who, at present, is enjoying a monopoly in this area. In any case, before I talk to any of the publishers, I need to be convinced whether to use DRM or not. To be honest, incorporating DRM in the ebooks I aggregate will not really affect my workflow greatly. However, I would like to offer the publisher a solution which would be in their best interests... and to do that, I need to know which side of the fence I'm on. In other words, help me out. Help me understand the pros and cons of DRM! Let me start by saying that I am not in favour of DRM in ebooks (or any other media, for that matter) but I can understand that content copyright owners may feel it is necessary to employ DRM. In my opinion, piracy is the biggest publicity tool there is. I have countless books that I have purchased, either as an ebook or as a hard copy which I originally discovered on forums related to download sites. I'm also sure that many people are content with owning a pirated version of an ebook / movie / album and who will never actually spend money on something they have already acquired illegally. Am I in a minority, then? Do losses due to piracy outweigh the sales from people like me? Another reason I'm not in favour of DRM is that I prefer complete control over the content I purchase. I don't want to have to use say, Digital Editions, to transfer my material between devices. I would like to back-up my purchases on my own external storage, not on some server somewhere. I admit, though, that this is a matter of personal preference and perhaps does not have any relevance while debating the need for DRM. What do you think?