This discussion reminds me of the Diamond Rio. Back in the late 90s, RIAA
sued Diamond to prevent them from selling their portable MP3 player (one of the first of its kind). They claimed that it violated the Audio Home Recording Act.
Quote:
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"We filed this lawsuit because unchecked piracy on the Internet threatens the development of a legitimate marketplace that consumers want." -- RIAA
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Following their logic, consumers didn't want digital music players. Nor did they want MP3s. Ok, that was yesterday. Today all major labels sell unprotected MP3s (and other formats). Why didn't someone think of this back in the late 90s? Because the industry didn't respect or trust their customers.
The publishing industry is making the same mistakes. They don't approach current technologies in a way that balances the rights and needs of both consumers and authors. They continue barricading their content behind restrictive DRM and stiffling licensing schemes. I don't own the book, I just purchased the right to read its content. I cannot resell it because I don't have the license to do so. And so on. Their attempt to control customer actions and continue doing business as they always did will bring about their own downfall.