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Personalization.. I agree that is exactly the sort of thing that is needed! Something that provides a little speed bump to make a little bit of trouble to make copies, but doesn't impose the severe restrictions.
If your name is on an e-book, you really aren't going to edit it out and pass it on. If you give it to a family member or close friend you will only do that if you really trust them not to pass it further. After all, your name is on it.
More importantly, people who are willing to buy their e-books (the vast majority), and who gravitate to the easiest solution (also a vast majority) will now gravitate to a purchase of the non-DRM'd legal version, as opposed to a pirated copy. If people have a reasonable alternative, they will gravitate to the legal version -- unless DRM or exorbitant pricing or a purchase process full of hassles pushes them away.
Once DRM is on a file, many people will look for a way, any way, to get around it, and they won't consider it wrong. But if they have a convenient and reasonable way to get legal content that doesn't have onerous DRM restrictions, they will buy the legal version.
Of course this doesn't address publisher's fears (they don't have the same faith in people, as should be expected as they bear the risk, not us), or their desire to strengthen copyright law, or even their desire to have more control over how content is used. The logical solutions to this issue have to win over a lot of legal, political and practical inhibitors.
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