[markbot]

I disagree with many people's desire to do away with DRM on ebooks. This isn't communist China. Property rights actual mean something. When was the last time an important innovation came out of China (before and after communism)? I would say that DRM is absolutely essential to a successful future with ebooks. DRM is needed to stop the parasites from stealing people’s hard work. Entrepreneurs and inventors do not start businesses when they know people can steal their products and services willy nilly. It is very short sighted to want to get rid of DRM.

Let's say u r a novelist like Stephen King and u spend 6 months writing a book. You publish the book online DRM free in PDF and charge people upon purchase through a website like Amazon, etc. Very soon this book will end up on the file sharing services. It will be emailed among people that know each other. King will get much less for his work. Why would someone put all that effort into something if they know people can steal it so easily?

I don't think the creators should HAVE to rely on the good intentions of others to make a buck. They aren't running charities. Do a thought experiment…imagine that all people in the US has the sony reader and all people had access to file sharing programs. What would happen to a DRM free book once it is published? This is the thought experiment you should run any time u think DRM free books is a good idea.
Look at the music industry. MP3 has greatly reduced music sales and hurt many people. There is also probably much less innovation there as well. With books it will be ever worse because there is no “live performance” to make money on. The intellectual property is the only product.

This argument goes down to something very fundamental and important, something in the US constitutions….that is property rights. The right to control property…physical and intangible…to make a living off of your hard work.
Imagine a world without property rights, starting in 1900. A communist utopia by 2000? The USSR surely wasn’t. We would essentially have to rely on the government for innovations. I’m not even going to get into why socialism is a bad political/economic system…would take too long. Would we have the PC, laptop, iphone, mp3 music player, Prius, Mac, Windows, consumer electronics, HD DVD, gourmet food for mass consumption, dvds, mobile phones…etc.