Webshops had rather publishers didn’t use DRM on e-books

Publishers of e-books have embraced DRM. They see it not only as a means to counter piracy, but also a way to tie people to their ecosystem. Web shops do not favour this trend. They fear to lose out when people object to the copy protection.

Through the ubiquitous use of DRM, many e-books are incompatible with readers of other manufacturers. An Amazon e-book can only be read on a Kindle. Whoever buys an e-book in another shop, will likely not be able to read it on that same Kindle.

Sander van Kempen, founder of ebook.nl, claims using DRM is counterproductive. He says to Webwereld: “People who don’t want to pay, won’t take the trouble of visiting your site anyway”. He reasons that this way, you burden people who have proven willing to pay, with user unfriendly DRM. Head of Libris Blz., Carolien Damwijk, confirms this statement. “One shouldn’t trouble the group of people who are paying with problematic DRM.” The two call on publishers to stop using copy protection and point to the example of the music industry, that also had high expectations of DRM but in the end chose not to use these technologies. The salespersons look for answers in what they call “social DRM”: digital watermarking. A technology that imprints copies so they are always traceable to the owner of the original.

Shops would furthermore like to see expanded availability of digital titles. “We need a larger choice of content. When content in can’t be found in web shops, people will try to find it elsewhere, for free. If we react as slow as the music industry, I fear the worst,” says Hidde van der Louw, book manager at bol.com. The supply of printed books outnumbers that of e-books tens of times.

Source: Webwereld