DRM implementation on ebooks

[ApK]

Originally Posted by joehunt

LOL you're going to threaten reviewers? I know what my response to this sort of threat would be (and I wouldn't need more than 2 words)

Oh, it's just an implicit threat. You know, the nice kind.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by gbm

Here is one publisher solution to eARC's in the wild. No drm

Baen Ebooks ADVANCE READER COPIES

Not appropriate in this situation. Baen's idea is that good proofing and copy editing will be worth paying for. The eARCs hold back that value, the paid versions add that value back in.

You'd be foolish to give a reviewer a poorly edited copy to review, so where's the held-back value?

[Difflugia]

Originally Posted by John123

No, I'm not the vendor. Here's what my client asked for:

"Hi John – we are getting more requests from book reviewers etc for a mobi or epub file for them to read rather than a PDF. The problem is the files are open so they can be shared infinitely if someone deliberately or accidentally copied them round. For the books you've converted is it possible to put some security setting on the files that would protect us from that risk?
Thanks"

I know they are being unreasonable, that's a fact of life, ask any supplier to major supermarkets. I just don't even know where to begin. Not quite true, I'm looking at Adept, but fail to see what I need to do to implement even this on their books.

John.

Based on what they're asking you, am I correct in assuming that these are electronic review copies for books published in paper? The reason I'm asking is that Adobe DRM requires somebody to have a server back-end that is itself an Adobe product. If you're distributing relatively few copies, it's probably cost-prohibitive to buy the server software from Adobe. You might be able to find a service that would fulfill DRM ebooks for you, though.

It also sounds like your clients are under the impression that there's just a bit or something that you can twiddle that provides DRM (sort of like Macrovision on DVDs; DVD players are contractually required to honor the Macrovision bit). Even if you do decide to implement something, you might want to first make sure your client knows that this will require either a significant investment on their part (for Adobe or similar) or a significant effort on your part and even then the measures won't slow down potential infringers that are technically savvy. They may think that they're asking something trivial of you and might reconsider if they realize what they're asking.

If these review copies are of ebooks that are already for sale as ebooks, it might be worth asking someone like Amazon or Kobo if they'd create coupon codes for the book that could be distributed to reviewers, who could then download copies that have "industry standard" DRM applied.

[Froide]

Originally Posted by John123

Actually, this has given me a thought. What would be the best way to embed a reviewers information in the metadata? And use this threat not to re-distribute. Kinda lame I know, but might just be effective on most people.

Kinda what Harvard Business Publishing for Educators does with the case studies and other resources it offers, if registered educators download them for short-term use but do not purchase them.

[PeterT]

Unfortunately there is no fool proof way of protecting a resource. Sure you could embed distinct watermarks in images, but that just needs someone to replace the images.

Distinct spelling mistakes in the text? Just compare two or more copies of the material and they stand out.

It goes on and on... No guaranteed means of protecting material.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by John123

No, I'm not the vendor. Here's what my client asked for:

"Hi John – we are getting more requests from book reviewers etc for a mobi or epub file for them to read rather than a PDF. The problem is the files are open so they can be shared infinitely if someone deliberately or accidentally copied them round. For the books you've converted is it possible to put some security setting on the files that would protect us from that risk?
Thanks"

Oh! Well, that's a much easier question to answer. The answer is "no".

[murg]

Note: the use of 'you' in my comments refers to your clients, not you personally.

Originally Posted by John123

No, I'm not the vendor. Here's what my client asked for:

"Hi John – we are getting more requests from book reviewers etc for a mobi or epub file for them to read rather than a PDF. The problem is the files are open so they can be shared infinitely if someone deliberately or accidentally copied them round. For the books you've converted is it possible to put some security setting on the files that would protect us from that risk?
Thanks"

I know they are being unreasonable, that's a fact of life, ask any supplier to major supermarkets. I just don't even know where to begin. Not quite true, I'm looking at Adept, but fail to see what I need to do to implement even this on their books.

John.

First off, get in contact with Adobe and price out what a DRM implementation would cost.

The number will be so high that your clients will freak.

Seriously, your clients have no idea how much DRM costs. So, let Adobe educate them on that subject.

Originally Posted by John123

Thanks. That would seem to be the simple, however surmountable, approach. I know how to watermark the cover simply in Photoshop. But how do I go about watermarking the epub/mobi text?

Second, watermark DRM, of any form, is useless unless you are prepared to sue the person that you gave/sold the original copy to.

Originally Posted by John123

Actually, this has given me a thought. What would be the best way to embed a reviewers information in the metadata? And use this threat not to re-distribute. Kinda lame I know, but might just be effective on most people.

Third, don't give the reviewers anything to complain about other than the literary content of the book, or the reviews will focus on the crappy DRM and not the content itself. You know, the reason you're giving the book to the reviewer in the first place.

Embedding a reviewers name is a very, very bad idea. Mainly because you can't guarantee that the right file will go to the right reviewer. Or some random person at your clients won't send any copy of the file to a reviewer. This is called a privacy violation, and the reviewer will love spending their entire review talking about how your clients don't have a clue.

No matter what form of DRM you use, the reviewers are going to assume that is the form of DRM that all of your books will have. So, if you screw it up, they'll make sure everyone knows about it. This is called reputational damage.

[gweeks]

Originally Posted by murg

Second, watermark DRM, of any form, is useless unless you are prepared to sue the person that you gave/sold the original copy to.

In a review setting the threat can be something milder than a law suite. The threat is that you simply won't be given access to any other review copies. If that is a sufficient threat is another question.

Greg