STUDY SHOWS: Ditching DRM could reduce piracy, prices

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by John F

Or share an account.

Which works for Steam, but not for PC games that don't use a similar service, but still limit your number of allowed installs.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

Which works for Steam, but not for PC games that don't use a similar service, but still limit your number of allowed installs.

If you want to play together you still need two accounts.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

If you want to play together you still need two accounts.

Which means you need to buy two copies of the game, yes. Steam assumes a single-player household.

[xg4bx]

i think we may need to redefine terms a bit.

to me piracy is directly profiting from the sale of counterfeit goods or goods that the seller has no right to be selling ie selling burnt dvds full of book files out of a van at a local flea market. he's directly profiting from the breach of copyright and to me thats what "piracy" is.

what most sites are doing id consider file sharing. theyre sharing goods for the love of said goods and not profiting from the distribution.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by xg4bx

i think we may need to redefine terms a bit.

to me piracy is directly profiting from the sale of counterfeit goods or goods that the seller has no right to be selling ie selling burnt dvds full of book files out of a van at a local flea market. he's directly profiting from the breach of copyright and to me thats what "piracy" is.

what most sites are doing id consider file sharing. theyre sharing goods for the love of said goods and not profiting from the distribution.

The sites are profiting off this illegal trade. And users are profiting, they post and get a chance to download something else without paying. I am all for sharing in the family, but I have no tolerance for illegal file sharing. Sharing is a misnomer, anyway, how can you share something that isn't yours to give away?

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

The sites are profiting off this illegal trade. And users are profiting, they post and get a chance to download something else without paying. I am all for sharing in the family, but I have no tolerance for illegal file sharing. Sharing is a misnomer, anyway, how can you share something that isn't yours to give away?

Profiting means actually getting something for what you're doing. So if the copies were sold instead of given away for free, there would be a profit. Since that's not the case, benefiting is a better word.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

Profiting means actually getting something for what you're doing. So if the copies were sold instead of given away for free, there would be a profit. Since that's not the case, benefiting is a better word.

The websites profit from increased traffic, thus make more money on ads. As for the users, yes. But it this just semantics -- we are talking about items that the "sharers" have no right to give away. It is illegal and hurts the content creators. We shouldn't try to turn this kind of "sharing" into an act of altruism.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

We shouldn't try to turn this kind of "sharing" into an act of altruism.

I'm sorry, was I doing that?

[speakingtohe]

DRM is like if you ordered waffles at a restaurant, but instead of having the waffles served on a plate they get hurled at you by a bear riding a unicycle.

You obviously go to a better class of restaurant than I do. No unicycles that I have seen

Helen

[SmokeAndMirrors]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

You obviously go to a better class of restaurant than I do. No unicycles that I have seen

Helen

You haven't had a bear fling waffles at you from atop a unicycle? You are missing out. We have a place where they're on unicycles 8 feet high, so they pretty much just drop it down your throat.

[John F]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

Which works for Steam, but not for PC games that don't use a similar service, but still limit your number of allowed installs.

I thought you were talking about ebooks.

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

... With ebooks, each family member might have their own device to read on, which then forces either "casual sharing" or forces them to buy four copies. Or to buy a paper copy.

I believe the current ebook DRM schemes allow for multiple registrations to accounts (B&N is a different animal).

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by John F

I thought you were talking about ebooks.

The topic is DRM, and how it affects piracy. Seeing how it works with games is a valid point to the discussion.

Originally Posted by John F

I believe the current ebook DRM schemes allow for multiple registrations to accounts (B&N is a different animal).

But that would mean only one account per household for sharing purposes. So a parent will have an account, and own different readers so that each family member will have access to the books on their own device.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

The topic is DRM, and how it affects piracy. Seeing how it works with games is a valid point to the discussion.

Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. I didn't realize Scaly was applying Game DRM to ebooks.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by John F

Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. I didn't realize Scaly was applying Game DRM to ebooks.

Not applying game DRM, but discussing how the situation works for games vs ebooks. In post #525 that you commented on, Scaly pointed out an aspect which is different between ebooks and games: a household might have one console but more readers, so the question of sharing within the household is different.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by John F

I believe the current ebook DRM schemes allow for multiple registrations to accounts (B&N is a different animal).

Every time I see this, it kind of baffles me a little that someone would think "just share your account" is a good solution. What do you do if there is a change in the household and someone moves out or someone new moves in? There are credit cards involved with practically every single eReader account out there right now, and to share that information with three different people (some of them perhaps a bit too young to understand why paranoia is a virtue in this day and age of identity theft?) is a very good way to ensure that your credit card company tells you "too bad, should have been more careful" when your credit card information becomes compromised.

And that hasn't even begun to touch the more sticky issue of whether parents would want their children, or even their spouse, to have full access to all the books they read. Very few books written for adults are appropriate for all ages.