Why haven't e-book companies patched their DRM?

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

It is, as they saying goes, Defective by Design http://www.defectivebydesign.org/

exactly.

[Boston]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i agree with you ; we need a universal standard so that incompatibility issues will be a thing of the past, but for me, that is tied to format, not drm

Yes, I stand corrected...my major problem with DRM has to do with the lack of a universal standard. I think its the price of early adoption (similar to beta vs vhs) and believe eventually a universal standard will emerge.

Again, I would like to be able to transfer license.

I think the problems with drm isn't so much the concept but the execution. For example, most dvds are encrypted and while it doesn't stop the determined from breaking and distributing, its under the radar of the average user because it doesn't stop people from their right to use or lock them into a particular vendor.

[Sydney's Mom]

DVD encryption makes people break the encryption for purely innocent reasons. You would never expect I would do such things, especially since I am not very good with computers. But when I wanted to watch Transformers on my ipod, I learned how to break the encryption to put it on. I loved that movie, and paid full price as soon as it came out. Why should I also pay for an itunes version, when I can only watch one or the other? I would never distribute it or profit from it, but I should be able to enjoy it in my choice of format.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Boston

I think the problems with drm isn't so much the concept but the execution. For example, most dvds are encrypted and while it doesn't stop the determined from breaking and distributing, its under the radar of the average user because it doesn't stop people from their right to use or lock them into a particular vendor.

Well it restricts the possible vendors. For example I just bough a Popcorn Hour A110 tha can play DRM-free DVD or DVD copied to a harddisk. I have to remove the DRM to be able to use my playing device.

You can probably not design a DRM system that does not introduce these kind of restriction of perfectly legitimate use of what you have bought.

[Moejoe]

DVD restriction also extended to the completely unfair use of REGION ENCODING. They divied up the world like a pie, so they could keep a stranglehold on the markets. Backfired of course. Cheap, chinese hardware manufacturers built in handset codes to strip the region lock off their players. All you need do is tap in a few numbers on the remote and you can play a DVD from anywhere in the world.

[Boston]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

DVD encryption makes people break the encryption for purely innocent reasons. You would never expect I would do such things, especially since I am not very good with computers. But when I wanted to watch Transformers on my ipod, I learned how to break the encryption to put it on.

Admittedly, I do the same...again, its not perfect but I was just raising it as an example where encryption seems to be more palatable because there is at least a standard between the dvd players themselves. I do think I read somewhere that there was a recent change so that buying a dvd now entitles people to digital versions (and oddly enough, it seems that is the direction Amazon is headed with reports that their next step is to make their books available on phonest, etc..).

I think the reason Amazon has such a large library is because they were able to convince more publishers to hop on due to their more restrictive DRM and restricting sales to US. And that is not a bad thing as a stepping stone because as more people adopt, then the power will shift.

I apologize to the original poster for taking this thread off-track.

[pdurrant]

I suspect it's because the Publishers don't have a clause in their contracts with the DRM supplies stating that the DRM suppliers must patch any breaks in the DRM system within a certain time frame.

It seems certain that the big music publishers had such a clause in their contracts with Apple.

Paul

Originally Posted by Robotech_Master

Apple was famous for patching every new Fairplay crack with a new version of iTunes.

But on the other hand, cracks for LIT, Mobi, and eReader have been around for years…and they continue to work.

Why haven't the e-book companies patched their readers to invalidate the cracks?

(Not that I want them to or anything. I'm just curious why they haven't.)

[Penforhire]

When I look back on the history of Microsoft products I can clearly see the market dominance of Windows and Office are due to how easily their early versions were pirated. They did not became the defacto standard because they were better. They achieved dominance because so many kids grew up using pirated copies. The funny part is how they started DRM and continue to tighten their DRM now that they have dominance. I don't know if that will prove to be good or bad for them but no-DRM is how they got where they are today.

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

When I look back on the history of Microsoft products I can clearly see the market dominance of Windows and Office are due to how easily their early versions were pirated. They did not became the defacto standard because they were better. They achieved dominance because so many kids grew up using pirated copies. The funny part is how they started DRM and continue to tighten their DRM now that they have dominance. I don't know if that will prove to be good or bad for them but no-DRM is how they got where they are today.

The problem with Microsoft DRM, as with it all, is that it's easily broken, and they actually provide versions to Students and others that are without DRM at all. For instance there's an Office version provided to MS Professionals dubbed 'the blue edition'. It has no DRM at all, no serial and is easy to make a 1-1 copy. This version becomes the standard 'Pirate' edition. Same goes for XP - there's a Corporate version that doesn't need a serial and the WGA checks are all legit. Again this version is the one that gets copied. The 'Pirates' use these versions. The regular customers have to deal with DRM, WGA, license keys, annoying phone call activations and renewing licenses after hardware changes.

DRM is defective, it affects only genuine customers.

[Liviu_5]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I suspect it's because the Publishers don't have a clause in their contracts with the DRM supplies stating that the DRM suppliers must patch any breaks in the DRM system within a certain time frame.

It seems certain that the big music publishers had such a clause in their contracts with Apple.

Paul

Is this known or just speculation?

The way I see, it's about who benefits? Apple DRM benefited Apple first and foremost by locking people to iPods and that's where they made their money, not in songs.

Let us see - when drm got ditched, was Apple the first or the last to do it - and forget bs pr from Jobs and other company spokesmen - Apple had a big vested interest in drm, record companies did not and they figured it out at some point though it took a lot of wall headbutting...

With e-books it will depend on what their sellers make their money on and what relation is between them and the device makers.

If Amazon wants to make the serious money on Kindles, then just be sure they will be last to ditch drm, whatever Bezos and his cohorts claim...

Publishers again are the ones with the least interest in drm as long as they want to sell ebooks, and sooner or later they will get it; of course right now they really do not want to sell ebooks, so all the ridiculous things we see:

http://www.ereads.com/2009/03/penetr...k-pricing.html

[Moejoe]

There's the problem right there - if the publishers aren't interested in selling ebooks they're going to pay in the long run. You make an object scare when it has no need to be scarce, then the Pirates will just produce their own and distribute. All they need is the original book and some time. I've just spent half an hour trying to find Banana Yoshimoto in an eBook format, the only place her books are available is the Piratebay. They're creating the Pirates with their stubborness.

(by the by, I didn't download the Yoshimoto books)

[Format C:]

IMHO, it's all about control, not only money.
If I've got a strong enough protection schema, I can decide who reads what and when.
Until now only TV commercials had such a power. And they're losing it.