DRM Handcuffs

[Graham Coulson]

The theory of a light, convenient electronic book reader is quite appealing to me, but I want to own my books – which should include the options of backing up, of transferring to another device, of reselling, of trading, of gifting and/or of lending them as I see fit.

DRM handcuffs these freedoms -- unless of course one resorts to “hacking” off the restrictive encryption codes, which IMHO is improper if not downright unethical.

In any case, given that DRM can now be readily circumnavigated, where is the real point to its overly encumbering existence and won’t the power of the Internet consumer win in the end?

[Ron.]

that's interesting, i wasn't aware of these issues with DRM, could you please elaborate ?

[Graham Coulson]

I don't yet own an eReader and so I can only speak from what I have read but, as I understand it, DRM is the software that controls what one can and cannot do with an ebook (or any other) file. Yes, there are ebooks available without DRM, but most are DRMed supposedly in order to protect the intellectual property rights of the author.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by Graham Coulson

The theory of a light, convenient electronic book reader is quite appealing to me, but I want to own my books – which should include the options of backing up, of transferring to another device, of reselling, of trading, of gifting and/or of lending them as I see fit.

For the purposes of discussion, you might want to separate these.

Backing up: DRM does not prevent you doing this.

Transferring to another device: DRM does not specifically prevent you doing this, as long as the device supports that DRM. This should be posed as "Transferring to any other device".

Reselling, trading, gifting, lending: Although the DRM makes doing these difficult, it's actually the licence granted with the eBook that prevents you doing these things. Most eBooks sold without DRM are also licenced on the condition that you do not pass them on.

For example from the terms of use at Fictionwise, and covering their books sold without DRM (my highlights):

All eBooks at Fictionwise.com are the exclusive property of the publisher or its licensors and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. The download of these product(s) is intended for the Fictionwise Member's personal and noncommercial use. Any other use of eBooks downloaded from Fictionwise.com is strictly prohibited. Users may not modify, transmit, publish, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, display, or in any way exploit, any of the content of these product(s), in whole or in part. By downloading Fictionwise eBooks, the User hereby acknowledges and agrees to these terms.

and

eBooks cannot be printed, copied, or "loaned" to others due to copyright laws.

Graham

[Graham Coulson]

Thanks, Graham, for that very full reply. I'm glad to learn that backing up is possible -- I had read otherwise...

By the by, that's a great name you've got there!

All the best,

G.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by Graham Coulson

By the by, that's a great name you've got there!

I was lucky enough to get my login here before the Grahams arrived en masse.

G

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by Graham

Backing up: DRM does not prevent you doing this.Graham

Originally Posted by Graham Coulson

Thanks, Graham, for that very full reply. I'm glad to learn that backing up is possible -- I had read otherwise...

It's not quite as simple as you might think/hope, though. It all depends on exactly how the particular DRM system works, but on the Kindle, DRM books are tied to a specific device. If I download a DRM'd file from Amazon for my Kindle, I can make backups of that file, but they will only work on the device I downloaded them for. If I buy a new Kindle, they won't work on the new Kindle.

Any purchases I make from Amazon can, however, be downloaded to any device I have registered to my account. So, if I buy a new Kindle and register it to my account, I can download a copy for that new Kindle. In effect, Amazon is keeping backups for me. I think most e-book stores have a similar facility.

[Graham]

True, for Kindle.

For Adobe DRM you can read your backups on any device you have registered with Adobe Digital Editions (Sony, Kobo, Pocketbook, etc).

For eReader and others where you use your credit card (does that include B&N's Adobe implementation? - I'm from the UK) you need that number.

For secure Mobipocket, if it's still used, you need the registration number from the reading software on your device, which you then log to register the device with each store - and moving backups between devices with that is a pain - you need to download again if you've added a new device in the meantime.

With Apple's iBooks your books are backed up to the iTunes library of any computer with which you synchronise, but can't be transferred between iTunes accounts.

Graham

[CRussel]

But let's be clear. If it's an Amazon book, and Amazon goes out of business (admittedly, not terribly likely right now), then their archive of your book is suddenly gone.

Personally, I dislike DRM intensely. But I also have zero qualms about removing it, and do so on every single book I buy. The day someone creates a DRM plan for Amazon that I can't remove, is the day I stop buying books from them.

I also think the OP misses the very real marketplace of DRM-Free books out there. Currently, well over half of the books in my Calibre library started out as DRM-Free. And that percentage holds true for those marked "ToBeRead".

I think refusing to buy a reader because of DRM is frankly "cutting off your nose to spite your face".

[jbcohen]

When I took my classes on computer security one of the things we were taught is to every action security folks take there is always an equal opositie reaction on the part of the hackers to break through the actions of the security folks. So applied to this situation it means that to every action that publishers take with reguards to DRM and to restrict us readers there will always be a tool out there to circumvent the precaution. The reward for doing so, called the honeypot, is too big for hackers not to work the issue. The honeypot includes things such as braging rights, possibly the ability to sell your work. So never fear there will always be a way to remove the handcuffs the challenge is to find the key to the handcuffs on the internet and trust me thats not a dificult one.

[speakingtohe]

In any case, given that DRM can now be readily circumnavigated, where is the real point to its overly encumbering existence and won’t the power of the Internet consumer win in the end?

A couple of reasons for DRM to exist.

Libraries could not lend books.

Without DRM and the copyright restrictions anyone could resell multiple copies of a book they had acquired. I know DRM does not exclude this, but it probably stops quite a few.

The majority of people cannot or will not remove DRM and many of these people buy ebooks.

Book stores, authors, publishers etc. have always lost a lot of sales due used book stores, photocopying, libraries, and even trading and lending among friends. Perhaps they see ebooks and DRM as a way to actually increase their sales.

If they ever get the idea to sell ebooks substantially cheaper than pbooks they could possibly wipe out the used book stores and most of the new books stores and hardly anyone would care about DRM. (My opinion only)

Helen

[mldavis2]

Perhaps off-topic here, or perhaps to be censored, but you can usually find ways to remove DRM if you don't mind breaking laws which are still being tested in the courts and which might provide an ethical challenge. From a practical standpoint, DRM-providers (those who create the DRM algorithms) are constantly making adjustments and changes to prevent available methods from circumventing their DRM-locks.

So to purchase a book with the intent of removing the DRM may work today but may not work on future acquisitions as the cat and mouse game evolves. I don't like DRM because it eliminates sharing that has become inherent in the "added value" of pBooks since the invention of the printing press. On the other side of the coin, pBooks have a long but finite life span depending on the binding and paper quality, something which electronic media potentially lacks if you assume continued ability to read the format being used to store and display the content. It is completely understandable that authors do not want to see their work freely distributed as a potentially infinite number of copies to the entire internet community. With the removal of DRM, the entire distribution would be on the honor-system, something that seems to fail for some reason.

[Michael Wallace]

I published my early books with DRM, but have subsequently released everything without, as I've become more educated on the subject. Of course, no writer wants people stealing his work, but the people who steal won't be bothered by something as trivial as DRM, while legitimate owners of the book can find DRM annoying as they try to move their libraries from one device to another. I don't think you should have to purchase a new copy of something every time you chance devices. (Do you hear that Apple?)

[EowynCarter]

Originally Posted by Michael Wallace

I published my early books with DRM, but have subsequently released everything without, as I've become more educated on the subject. Of course, no writer wants people stealing his work, but the people who steal won't be bothered by something as trivial as DRM, while legitimate owners of the book can find DRM annoying as they try to move their libraries from one device to another. I don't think you should have to purchase a new copy of something every time you chance devices. (Do you hear that Apple?)

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by Michael Wallace

I published my early books with DRM, but have subsequently released everything without, as I've become more educated on the subject. Of course, no writer wants people stealing his work, but the people who steal won't be bothered by something as trivial as DRM, while legitimate owners of the book can find DRM annoying as they try to move their libraries from one device to another. I don't think you should have to purchase a new copy of something every time you chance devices. (Do you hear that Apple?)