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Originally Posted by LaughingVulcan
To me, most (if not all) of my objections to DRM would go away if I can be assured that the books I buy this year will work next year.
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A standardized format would solve many of your concerns: If a publisher or e-book reader went unsupported over time, you could read your purchased e-books on another device without trouble.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LaughingVulcan
Another potential solution: Find a way to make the DRM independent of the file format - something like a universal DRM format for all types of eBook file.
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Conversely, a standard file format could be sold by different publishers, each using their proprietary DRM format. But once the file was unlocked the first time, after being paid for, it would be unlocked forever. And being standardized, it would not be limited to a computer, reader or reader format. (But actually, the same thing would be accomplished simply by selling the e-book.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by LaughingVulcan
The biggest limitation here might be the economics of publishing itself: What motivation is there for a publisher to adopt either such proposal? It's in the publisher's economic interest to have you re-pay for books every 3-5 years. I'm not sure if there is a deliberative planned obsolescence in the publisher or software company's strategy, but it sadly would make sense if there is.
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Maybe, but if book owners find themselves repaying for content they've already bought, they're going to stop buying anything from that publisher, and they're going to tell their friends to do the same. Disney tried that tack with their movie DVDs, and had to yank the idea in response to immediate and vehement customer demand. Any publisher that purposely tries that will only suffer a painful backlash from the market, not a profit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LaughingVulcan
Also, the notion that any DRM scheme may eventually be broken would hamper this idea - does the publishing community as a whole really want all its eggs in one basket? But that would depend on just how secure such a system could be made.
Last idea: Have your purchase of the eBook on file with the publisher, not just the vendor, with a commitment in the licensing from the publisher that you are entitled to that particular text in any format the publisher uses, now or in the future.
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DRM will always be broken, and adding complexity to the system won't help. If you can't get companies to agree on a book format, they sure won't be able to coordinate a double-database of DRM tracking.