E-book piracy refers to the unauthorized distribution and sharing of copyrighted digital books without permission from the copyright owner or publisher. It can take many forms, including uploading e-books to file-sharing sites, distributing copies via email, or sharing them on peer-to-peer networks.
E-book piracy can have significant financial and legal consequences for authors, publishers, and other stakeholders in the publishing industry. It can result in lost revenue, decreased sales, and reduced profits for those who produce and distribute e-books legally. Additionally, e-book piracy violates copyright law and can lead to legal action against the perpetrators.
Many efforts have been made to combat e-book piracy, such as digital rights management (DRM) technology, legal action against pirates, and education and awareness campaigns aimed at discouraging piracy. Despite these efforts, e-book piracy remains a significant problem, particularly in countries where copyright laws are not as strict or where enforcement is difficult.
While the problem has been hogging headlines for some time now thanks to the Z Library saga, the unauthorized reproduction and distribution of books have been a problem for centuries. It is just that the emergence of digital technology and the internet has made book piracy much more widespread and accessible than it has ever been in the past. With the rise of digital technology, book piracy has taken on new forms, such as sharing digital copies of books via file-sharing sites, peer-to-peer networks, and other online platforms.
Overall, book piracy has been an ongoing problem throughout history. While the methods and technologies used to commit piracy have changed, the impact on authors, publishers, and other stakeholders in the publishing industry remains significant. It is also amusing how surprisingly easy it is to pirate an e-book.
How a book is pirated
As author Arvyn Cerézo pointed out in an article on BookRiot, the process starts with creating digital copies of a paperback if there aren’t already e-book versions of the same available. The process again gets simplified a lot if there are PDF copies of the book available, or maybe even ePub copies such as the Advanced Reader Copies that are handed out to early reviewers but make it to the grey mark somehow.
A more straightforward way for e-book hackers to do their job is to download the e-book from Amazon or other online bookstores. Thereafter, e-book piracy involves removing the digital rights management (DRM) protection that is put in place by vendors to prevent unauthorized file sharing, or “cracked”, as is the common parlance used by the pirates. Once the DRM is removed, the e-books can be shared and hosted on various file storage sites. E-book pirates often use these sites to generate revenue by bombarding the download pages with advertisements.
Then there are also those who would scan the pages of a book individually and arrange them to make an e-book. Creating PDF or ePub can be considered a natural extension of this process, all of which can be done easily with the right software. While scanning the individual pages can be a bit laborious, all of it can be worth the effort if it is a bestseller and an in-demand title.
Widespread nature of the problem
It’s quite possible that many U.S. publishers are unaware that their e-books are being illegally sold and profited from in other parts of the world. In Asia, for example, unauthorized vendors are using popular online shopping platforms such as Lazada and Shopee to sell pirated e-books. These vendors typically create listings for the e-books, which are then hosted on online file storage services like Google Drive. Once a user pays for the e-book through the shopping platform, the vendor provides access to the content, which may include a single e-book or an entire folder full of ePubs.
E-book piracy can often go undetected, as it can be propagated through a variety of online channels. For instance, an underground forum where anonymous uploaders share pirated e-books is one such space where piracy thrives. In this forum, uploaders make money from advertisements that are displayed on the download pages. Meanwhile, a Russian social media website has also emerged as a popular platform for sharing pirated e-books. What’s surprising is just how widespread e-book piracy is on this platform, with users even able to request specific e-books that they would like to read.
In addition to the other channels mentioned, there is also a slideshow site where pirates share links and instructions on how to download pirated e-books in slideshow documents. While LinkedIn, the former parent company of the site, claimed to be taking steps to combat piracy, the reality is that pirated e-books are still readily available, albeit in a more clandestine manner. These hidden corners of the internet have created a culture of piracy that can be difficult to contain, making it a challenge for publishers to protect their intellectual property and revenue streams.
The e-book piracy landscape has recently been further complicated by the actions of Internet Archive, a non-profit organization that has been hosting digital copies of books for several years. In 2020, several publishers filed a lawsuit against the organization for alleged copyright infringement. It appeared that Internet Archive had been scanning copies of donated books, placing them on their website, and lending them to users for a period of up to 14 days. While Internet Archive has defended its actions as being in line with the role of a library, the reality is that real libraries pay licensing fees to publishers, something that Internet Archive has not done. As the lawsuit heads to trial next year, it remains to be seen how this situation will impact the ongoing battle against e-book piracy.
The financial impact of e-book piracy
In 2017, Nielsen conducted a consumer survey that estimated U.S. publishers lose up to $315 million per year due to e-book piracy. Interestingly, the survey found that regular consumers, students, and workers who obtain e-books from various digital sources were the majority of those who engage in e-book piracy. That said, the above figure represents a significant improvement from the $2.8 billion that the publishers claimed they have lost in 2010. However, some experts have questioned the validity of publishers’ estimates, which assume that every pirated book is a lost sale. In fact, several studies suggest that online piracy has little impact on book sales, with the exception of blockbuster movie releases.
Another study conducted by the Authors Guild in 2017 found that authors in the United States lost an estimated $300 million in revenue due to e-book piracy. However, it’s worth noting that this estimate is based on self-reported data from a relatively small sample of authors and may not accurately represent the full extent of the problem.
A 2016 study conducted by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) estimated that the total losses due to e-book piracy in the European Union amounted to approximately €315 million (around $376 million) in 2015. The study also estimated that the publishing industry in the EU lost about 10 percent of its revenue to piracy, with e-books being one of the most affected categories.
Complex issue
Overall, while it’s difficult to determine the exact financial impact of e-book piracy, it’s clear that it can result in significant losses for authors, publishers, and others involved in the publishing industry. To combat piracy, many publishers and authors have implemented various strategies, such as digital rights management (DRM) technologies and offering legal, affordable alternatives to illegal copies. These findings raise questions about the effectiveness of current efforts to combat e-book piracy and call for new strategies to tackle this issue.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
