|
Watermarking doesn't prevent piracy. It removes the need to look for a cracked copy that will work on one's new computer/device. It discourages casual sharing.
DRM doesn't need to be 100% effective in order to be useful. All it has to be is less hassle than going to the darknet... IF it's acknowledged that "copies of ebooks" is not actually the problem.
The problem is "people who would pay, but don't, because they get free copies." The number and availability of free copies to people who will not pay is irrelevant to the income of authors & publishers. Control of those files is a minor concern, on par with worrying about the number of yard sales that have had boxes of cover-stripped books that were supposed to be destroyed. Yes, they exist. No, they haven't ruined the publishing industry.
While removal of watermark is not technically different from any other DRM, and probably easier than most... there's also no incentive to do so, for the average reader.
|