Attributor Protected

nogle · 11-18-2012, 01:24 PM

Technically, I suppose, this is not a Kobo questions, but:

I bought a book from Kobo a couple of days ago (curse that 40% off code) and I noticed that there was a small logo on the cover that claims "Attributor Protected". I tried googling and found a compnay called Attributor that offers some kind of piracy protection for eBooks, but couldn't find much in the way of details about it.

So, what is "Attributor Protected"? Is it some some kind of digital watermaking scheme, DRM, or something else? I am just kind of curious about these things.

PeterT · 11-18-2012, 01:53 PM

What book was it?

simond · 11-18-2012, 02:58 PM

Looks to me like its not drm as such, mostly a way for publishers to find to recognise and remove pirated books rather than anything in the books themselves

Nate the great · 11-18-2012, 04:13 PM

Attributor is a company that has found a way to add to the cost of publishing a book without increasing the number of sales.

They offer an anti-piracy service where they scour the web for copies of ebooks which their customers own the copyrights. If they find one then they send DMCA notices to the site in question.

nogle · 11-18-2012, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterT

What book was it?

Under Attack by Hannah Jayne. The first in the series was a freebie at one point from Kobo and thought well enough of it to buy the others at current prices.

nogle · 11-18-2012, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simond

Looks to me like its not drm as such, mostly a way for publishers to find to recognise and remove pirated books rather than anything in the books themselves

What I can't figure out is what is special about their service. It seems that they have signed up a good number of publishers that makes me think they have something beyond simple search and DMCA take-down notice.

Nate the great · 11-18-2012, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nogle

What I can't figure out is what is special about their service. It seems that they have signed up a good number of publishers that makes me think they have something beyond simple search and DMCA take-down notice.

MobileRead has gotten DMCA notices from Attributor. I don't think they do anything other than DMCA notices.

nogle · 11-18-2012, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

MobileRead has gotten DMCA notices from Attributor. I don't think they do anything other than DMCA notices.

I think there has to be more to it than just searching and logging DMCA notices. If the company can gain VC funding (and they are funded by some top VC firms), they must be able to do something non-obvious. I am wondering what that is, or perhaps it is a guarded secret to prevent imitators and work-arounds.

murg · 11-19-2012, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nogle

I think there has to be more to it than just searching and logging DMCA notices. If the company can gain VC funding (and they are funded by some top VC firms), they must be able to do something non-obvious. I am wondering what that is, or perhaps it is a guarded secret to prevent imitators and work-arounds.

The non-obvious thing that they do is sell to CEOs of large publishing firms.

feenix1363 · 11-19-2012, 09:57 AM

Its probably down to the search logarithm they use. They'll simply prove that its more effective at picking up uploaded books than standard searches, at a guess.

ArmorDog · 11-19-2012, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

MobileRead has gotten DMCA notices from Attributor. I don't think they do anything other than DMCA notices.

Now I'm really curious: Has MobileRead gotten any valid DMCA notices? Or is it just "hey, we saw you had a public domain book for download and we thought we could scare you into taking it down"?

Nate the great · 11-19-2012, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArmorDog

Now I'm really curious: Has MobileRead gotten any valid DMCA notices? Or is it just "hey, we saw you had a public domain book for download and we thought we could scare you into taking it down"?

Some were valid, yes. But I cannot add more details.

charlie - uk · 12-09-2014, 05:15 PM

Attributor Protected, means that the company digitally watermarks the eBook. Thus if the eBook is later found on a Torrent or MobileRead, Mobilism etc the digital watermark can identify who, when & where the book was purchased, at least that's the theory.

It's an alternative to implementing DRM as copy protection. The company scours the web looking for its 'protected material', & digital watermark....

http://www.digimarc.com/products/guardian

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digimarc

11-18-2012, 01:24 PM	#1
nogle Gangnam style! Posts: 373 Karma: 3646106 Join Date: Aug 2011 Device: Kobo	Attributor Protected Technically, I suppose, this is not a Kobo questions, but: I bought a book from Kobo a couple of days ago (curse that 40% off code) and I noticed that there was a small logo on the cover that claims "Attributor Protected". I tried googling and found a compnay called Attributor that offers some kind of piracy protection for eBooks, but couldn't find much in the way of details about it. So, what is "Attributor Protected"? Is it some some kind of digital watermaking scheme, DRM, or something else? I am just kind of curious about these things.

12-09-2014, 05:15 PM	#13
charlie - uk Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 1632062 Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Forest Of Dean, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom Device: Kobo Aura HD, Onyx Boox T68 & I86 HD ML+, Hisense A5,A5CC,Q5	Attributor Protected, means that the company digitally watermarks the eBook. Thus if the eBook is later found on a Torrent or MobileRead, Mobilism etc the digital watermark can identify who, when & where the book was purchased, at least that's the theory. It's an alternative to implementing DRM as copy protection. The company scours the web looking for its 'protected material', & digital watermark.... http://www.digimarc.com/products/guardian http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digimarc Last edited by charlie - uk; 12-09-2014 at 05:24 PM.

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11-18-2012, 01:53 PM	#2
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,698 Karma: 79983758 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	What book was it?

11-18-2012, 02:58 PM	#3
simond Fanatic Posts: 532 Karma: 1062755 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: London, UK Device: Kobo Aura One, iPad, iPhone	Looks to me like its not drm as such, mostly a way for publishers to find to recognise and remove pirated books rather than anything in the books themselves

11-18-2012, 04:13 PM	#4
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	Attributor is a company that has found a way to add to the cost of publishing a book without increasing the number of sales. They offer an anti-piracy service where they scour the web for copies of ebooks which their customers own the copyrights. If they find one then they send DMCA notices to the site in question.

11-19-2012, 09:57 AM	#10
feenix1363 Lost and clueless Posts: 194 Karma: 233336 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: UK Device: PRS-T1, Kobo Glo, Kindle for Andriod, Kobo for Android	Its probably down to the search logarithm they use. They'll simply prove that its more effective at picking up uploaded books than standard searches, at a guess.