Ever since the Internet expanded into the global market, people have been trying to find ways to leverage tools to gain access to free content. It seems to be typical behavior, but is it an acceptable practice? What about the writers and publishers not getting paid for copyrighted material? Do they matter? Or do they make enough money to justify the sharing of content? There … [Read more...] about In Literature and Arts, Sharing is not Caring: DRM and Copyright Matters
DRM
Internet Archive takes action against ebook piracy
In a recent development, the Internet Archive (IA) has taken a proactive step to protect copyrighted materials by sending a DMCA notice to GitHub, urging the removal of a tool known as "DeGouRou," Torrent Freak reported. This software allows IA patrons to remove digital rights management (DRM) from books borrowed from the IA library, potentially infringing upon the copyrights … [Read more...] about Internet Archive takes action against ebook piracy
Amazon pulling the plug on downloading e-books via USB and its impact
There have been persistent rumors on this, that Amazon is planning to eventually shut out the option to sideload e-books to the Kindle via the USB port. This is seen to be part of a bigger plan on the part of Amazon to prevent hacking of its e-books. As it is, titles available to download from the Amazon website get delivered in an older format which can easily be stripped of … [Read more...] about Amazon pulling the plug on downloading e-books via USB and its impact
When our ebooks stop working
One of the great pitfalls of buying ebooks is that there is no true sense of ownership. This is quite evident when Microsoft decided to close their digital bookstore last month and customers will be losing all access to everything they purchased and free books sometime in July. Sure lots of ebook stores have closed over the years such as the Sony Reader Store and Nook UK, but … [Read more...] about When our ebooks stop working
Image Comics is no longer offering DRM-Free Editions
Image Comics was an early adopter of offering most of their comics without any digital rights management. Since 2013 they allowed users to shop directly on their website and download comics to their computer and easily load them on their smartphone, tablet or e-reader. A few weeks ago the comics publisher decided to no longer offer DRM-Free comics on their website and gave … [Read more...] about Image Comics is no longer offering DRM-Free Editions
Audiobook publishers and retailers are trying to go DRM-Free
The audiobook market is dominated by Audible and in the United States they control 90% of the market. Audible sells audiobooks directly, but they also are the largest distributor to Apple iBooks. When Amazon acquired the company back in 2008 for $300 million and at the time they said they were going to phase out DRM (Digital Rights Management), but it never happened. When you … [Read more...] about Audiobook publishers and retailers are trying to go DRM-Free
Tolino is going to adopt a little known French DRM system
Tolino is going to adopting a DRM system by a French company named Tea. The name of the initiative is called CARE, which stands for Content & Author Rights Environment and is the world's first ergonomic and interoperable DRM. Unlike Adobe DRM there is no registration system with CARE. It will be implemented in a number of other e-readers with introduction of the Webreader … [Read more...] about Tolino is going to adopt a little known French DRM system
Datalogics is now offering Sony DRM for e-books
Datalogics is the largest player in the Digital Rights Management sector and they are officially licensed to sell all of Adobes SDK and PDF solutions. They have a huge portfolio of app developers and e-reader companies that use their technology and they make a killing. Datalogics has just announced that they are the exclusive providers of the new new Sony DRM system for e-books … [Read more...] about Datalogics is now offering Sony DRM for e-books
People are Losing their Trust in e-books
The primary benefit of a print book is the clear path of ownership. Once you procure it from your favorite online or brick and motor store, its yours. There is no problem with loaning it out to a friend or rereading it for the hundredth time. e-books on the other hand is a convoluted nightmare. When you purchase an e-book from a retailer like Apple or Amazon, you don't own … [Read more...] about People are Losing their Trust in e-books
eBook DRM: Providing Protection or Preventing Profits?
Have you ever purchased an e-book, but could only use it on a single device or app? That’s because digital rights management (DRM) is preventing you from moving it to other devices. By definition, DRM is any technology that sellers build into an electronic product or service to limit the range of the file’s uses after purchase. DRM is designed to prevent customers from using … [Read more...] about eBook DRM: Providing Protection or Preventing Profits?
Simon and Schuster Offers DRM-Free eBooks
Major publishers are notoriously fickle about embracing new trends and give sloths a run for their money. We have seen this transpire with eBook subscription services and getting involved in digital libraries. The Science fiction community has been one of the most agile, and many companies such as TOR have completely embraced the DRM-Free mentality. Saga, a division of Simon … [Read more...] about Simon and Schuster Offers DRM-Free eBooks
South Africa in Need of a Reliable Digital Reading Platform
Malcolm Seegers, digital publisher for Macmillan, stressed the need to have in place a robust digital reading platform that the academic sector in South Africa can benefit from immensely. He also stated the publishing platform should be able to operate in both online and offline mode. Malcolm cited the example of Makro, which sources a variety of goods from suppliers before … [Read more...] about South Africa in Need of a Reliable Digital Reading Platform
Fan Community Calls Out Illegal Comics Sharing
SuBLime is an imprint of Viz Media that publishes yaoi manga (love stories between two men). When they publish digitally, it is usually in the form of a PDF download, which means that is it basically DRM-free—it can be readily moved from one device to another and won't disappear if the publisher or the app does. It's the digital comics format that a lot of fans want (and some … [Read more...] about Fan Community Calls Out Illegal Comics Sharing
Square Enix To Shut Down Digital Manga Stores in U.S. and France
The Japanese site AnimeAnime is reporting that Square Enix will shut down its U.S. and French digital manga websites; although this news has yet to appear on the U.S. site, the news sites Crunchyroll and Anime News Network have picked up on it and there is a notice on the French site. The news comes as no surprise, as Square Enix has been having a bad year. They were projecting … [Read more...] about Square Enix To Shut Down Digital Manga Stores in U.S. and France