Would you buy an e-book with DRM?

[briwayjones]

I'm not a fan for DRM. I did check yes though because most of the mainstream books have DRM. At least the ones I have wanted.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by Stinger

I will not purchase any ebook wrapped in DRM, out of principle. I have downloaded a few 'freebies' with DRM, but stripping said DRM is the first thing I do. I strongly believe that 'knuckling under' and buying DRM'd books, then promptly stripping the DRM, is the worst kind of precedent us ebook enthusiasts can set. The bottom-line is if the publishers are still raking in strong profits with DRM in place, even if people complain about it, nothing is going to change. Vote with your wallets guys! as consumers, that's about the only voice we have.

I fully agree with Stinger. If people buy books with DRM, then strip the DRM, the publishers aren't going to know that you are stripping and will only see $$$ and keep cranking them out. If people quit buying DRM encumbered books, then mayhap the sellers would get the idea. Sony took a big sales hit when the word about their rootkits got out. That, more than anything, convinced them it was a very bad idea.

Sad to say, but dead tree books are still the most cost effective for me. Except for a small handful of authors whose books I'm too impatient to wait on or I'm worried about a book getting spoiled (like the Harry Potter books), I buy my books used. And guess what? Dead tree books do not have DRM! What a concept! Wow! Once I get my present library scanned (a massive job due to the massive number of books), it won't be that big a deal to cut off the spines and scan them as I buy them. Of course, I'll be all over any that I can buy already digitized and not DRM encumbered.

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

I think piracy is wrong, and I do not share those books with ANYONE, including my family.

Just curious, but would you loan a paper book to your family?

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald

I fully agree with Stinger. If people buy books with DRM, then strip the DRM, the publishers aren't going to know that you are stripping and will only see $$$ and keep cranking them out. If people quit buying DRM encumbered books, then mayhap the sellers would get the idea.

I agree with the idea, but what would most likely happen is the Publishers will blame the lost sales on piracy and try to come up with more DRM.

[Worldwalker]

I absolutely will not buy a DRM-restricted ebook. I'm with Stinger, etc.: I'm voting with my wallet. It may be a very small wallet, but it's all I have. If I buy (or even get as freebies) books with DRM, no matter how easy it would be to sanitize them, the publishers see that as a consumer accepting/tolerating DRM, and it's a vote in their favor. I'm not going to spend my money to vote against my own interests.

DRM does nothing to protect the rights of the authors; I will leave the proof as an exercise in searching torrents. If anything, it encourages people to circumvent it, and possibly annoys some of them enough to push them over the line into illicit distribution as well -- the old "$1000 recipe" urban legend turned real. And, of course, it does nothing but harm to the readers. The only people who gain any advantage from DRM are the companies with a vested interest in device or vendor lock-in. And I'm damn well not going to do anything to support someone whose whole business model is based on screwing me over (and, for that matter, screwing over the authors whose work I enjoy).

So I would not buy an ebook with DRM. I would not buy it in a house. I would not buy it with a mouse. Etc.

Oddly, I don't seem to have any lack of books to read or places to buy them. I've promised myself I'm going to stay away from Baen Books until I ready the last dozen or so books I bought there. Or re-read, in the case of the Lankhmar series, which I've had on dead trees for decades. I'm trying to stay away from Closed Circle, too; we'll see how that works out. And BeWrite ... I just found a very promising-looking mystery series there, so I may be in trouble, resolutions-wise. Plus, of course, there are all of the public domain books to be found here, on PG, etc.

Somewhat to my surprise, I've discovered some wonderful authors. If the publishing industry thinks they're serving a valuable role by selecting the best books for us, I personally think they're asleep at the switch. For example, Irene Radford, author of "Lacing Up for Murder", said she'd had no luck trying to sell it to the big publishers. Yet it is as good as most mysteries of its genre, and better than many, that I've bought on dead trees. (buy it at BookView Cafe and encourage her to write more!) So I'm not reading the latest bestsellers ... well, I never felt any need to read something just because a lot of other people read it (or at least got marketed into buying it) anyway. But between the indies and the classics, I have no shortage at all of DRM-free reading matter.

DRM is to rights management like DDT is to pest management: the whole point is extermination. That's a fine thing when it involves cockroaches, but not when it involves my rights.

[JSWolf]

I will not buy any eBooks that I cannot strip the DRM. I am not going to be locked in and someday lose my content.

[Tattncat]

I buy Drmed book only when I am unable to purchase them without.

[mikij]

I selected "No", but in fact I would buy it only if I can be absolutely sure to remove DRM and if there is no DRM-less version.
I don't like Amazon's policy to remove from reader a book because of I-don't-know-which-copyright-problem or Sony's that just disables it.

Can you imagine to buy a hard cover paper book of your favorite author, read it, put it on the shelf. Suddenly the editor decides he didn't want to sell this book, comes to your apartment while you are not there and remove the book from the shelf? No way - it's called a burglary. So why should Amazon/Sony/whoever remove (burglar) a book from a reader (shelf) if you don't want it?

[theducks]

I selected "Does not matter" because Yes was not correct.
If there are books waiting for my $$, the non-DRM books get bought...

Then, I really must want the book, but I will buy Paper before I pay more than the street price of Paper (and preferably, Used Paper).

I am glad the Authors think they are winning, because they are losing me on many possible sales.

[Donnageddon]

Another complete agreement with pdurrant's position.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I hate it. I selected "Yes, if I think I can remove the DRM after purchase" in your poll, although my actual position is "Yes, if I'm sure I can remove the DRM after purchase"

DRM doesn't stop piracy, but it does (if not removed) often lock customers into certain devices or certain software. It doesn't give any guarantee of being able to still read the content long-term. Indeed, on past experience, it seems quite likely to cause the loss of the ability to read the content on new devices within five to ten years.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I hate it. I selected "Yes, if I think I can remove the DRM after purchase" in your poll, although my actual position is "Yes, if I'm sure I can remove the DRM after purchase"

DRM doesn't stop piracy, but it does (if not removed) often lock customers into certain devices or certain software. It doesn't give any guarantee of being able to still read the content long-term. Indeed, on past experience, it seems quite likely to cause the loss of the ability to read the content on new devices within five to ten years.

the only thing i have to add to what pdurrant said so well is that in my personal experience, drm has caused me to lose access to all of my MSReader (lit) books within LESS THAN ONE YEAR of their purchase (both to the files still on my hard drive, and also to any future downloads of these BOUGHT AND PAID FOR files from my bookshelf). luckily i had removed the drm immediately after purchase, before i lost access to them ; i guess i better make sure to never ever lose those files. also, obviously, even if i *could* (i can't) i would never buy drm-ed lit format books again. i have a very strong preference for drm-free files and i try to limit my purchases of books with drm, although if i want a book badly enough i sometimes can't resist.

[Stinger]

Originally Posted by Shaggy

I agree with the idea, but what would most likely happen is the Publishers will blame the lost sales on piracy and try to come up with more DRM.

That is what is currently happening to PC Gaming, e.g: Ubisofts always-online DRM tactics, with EA hot on their heels. It has done nothing except annoy legitimate customers and push more people into the anti-DRM boat.

The situation might a little different there, however. Due to the next-gen consoles overtaking PC markets by huge margins as of late, I think it was a last ditch tactic of the PC divisions before they devote most of their resources to the consoles. I don't think ebooks will ever suffer from this kind of platform shift, but who knows.

In any case, when the giants fall, indies have a chance to shine and grow (Darwin would be proud), and hopefully not repeat the same mistakes down the line....
How many of you purchased a Humble Indie Bundle?


In the end though, I fear you're probably right in your prediction. It just won't work.

[FizzyWater]

I said yes, because I was happy buying eReader books, since the DRM was tied to me, not my computer.

However, I was only willing to purchase DRM'd ebooks in other formats once those formats were hacked.

[BenLee]

Yeah, went with the "Yes if i can remove DRM" option :P

When I "BUY" something, I expect to own it and do with it as I wish. Somehow having DRM on there makes it feel like I'm renting instead of owning.

[afa]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

the only thing i have to add to what pdurrant said so well is that in my personal experience, drm has caused me to lose access to all of my MSReader (lit) books within LESS THAN ONE YEAR of their purchase (both to the files still on my hard drive, and also to any future downloads of these BOUGHT AND PAID FOR files from my bookshelf).

That's scary.

I'm sorry to go a little off-topic, but since I'm a little new to the whole ebook world, I'm not sure how this works. So, could you explain what you mean by "lose access"? I mean, once it's on your reader, it's on your reader, right? (unless you have a Kindle, of course...) And the files on your hard drive? Does it mean they refuse to open, or what? Do DRMed files 'check' with the provider via your Internet connection every time you open them?

Thanks. And again, sorry for going off-topic.