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Old-Fashioned DRM Protects Harry Potter Book

Posted by timothy on from the but-is-it-a-good-book dept.

RMX writes "The Telegraph has a nice article about the steps that Scholastic is taking to protect the content of the print version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. They're delivering 10.8 million copies and need to ensure that this content isn't accessable by anyone before midnight. Technology includes high-tech (GPS to monitor delivery trucks progress and check that they did not deviate or stop.), low-tech (steel boxes & locks), social engineering notes (crates stacked up in the warehouses of delivery companies across America are marked: Please Do Not Open Before Midnight), and legal threats (As a final layer of security, booksellers have been forced to sign legal forms acknowledging that if they break the embargo, they will never again be supplied with a book by Scholastic). Think how much cheaper and easier it would be if they just used an E-book s with DRM. I'm all for Harry Potter protecting his rights; but it seems we keep getting closer and closer to the world described in Stallman's visionary The Right To Read article."

78 of 513 comments (clear)

  1. It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. by Eric+Smith · · Score: 5, Insightful
    None of the protection measures described are DRM, old-fashioned or otherwise.
    social engineering notes (crates stacked up in the warehouses of delivery companies across America are marked: Please Do Not Open Before Midnight)
    That isn't social engineering.
    Think how much cheaper and easier it would be if they just used an E-book with DRM.
    Cheaper and easier for the publisher. Not easier for the reader. Personally I don't care how expensive and difficult it is for the seller. I'll buy a plain old book, and I'd consider buying a non-DRM ebook, but I will not by a DRM'd ebook, because it is of little value to me. They expect to sell over ten million copies in the US. How many do you think they would be able to sell if they only offered an ebook? And how many if the ebook was DRM'd?

    If the publisher wants to save money, they can simply distribute the book like any other book. No one is forcing them to have an embargo until an exact time; they have chosen to do that on their own initiative. So if it costs them lots of money to enforce it, that's their own problem. Why would you want to encourage the publisher to use DRM? How do you think it benefits you as a reader? Or do you have some other hidden agenda?

    it seems we keep getting closer and closer to the world described in Stallman's visionary The Right To Read article.
    I'm baffled. If you don't want that world, why are you suggesting that the publisher should use DRM? To prevent it, you should not ask publishers to use DRM, and avoid buying DRM'd products. If DRM'd products sell poorly compared to non-DRM'd products, the publisher's decision as to whether to use DRM will be easy.
    1. Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. by v3rgEz · · Score: 4, Insightful
      I think the submitter wasn't seriously suggesting DRM, but rather trying to say that this was some sort of DRM. You're right, of course, that it isn't. Neither is an armored truck, nor a safe. They're all just plain security.

      Course, tinfoil hat sells better on slashdot, especially when sprinked with crappy RMS sci-fi (no seriously, it's terrible writing. Terrible.).

      One point to remember, however, is that this money on extra security isn't being wasted. First of all, it decreases the chance that a pirated copy will hit the net before the books hit shelves nationally. The ONLY way potter will lose sales is if an advance copy hits the internet a few days before its for sale, and eager readers read the entire thing online, and then no longer see a point in reading it. Otherwise, the convenience of a book far outweighs the extra cost, and people will just buy the book over reading it on their monitor, especially kids.

      Secondly, the extra security has gotten Rawlings front page articles on CNN, NYT, BBC, etc. etc. building up the book hype. A SoHo Potter celebration wouldn't make all these news sources; but coupled with the extra security, all the other potter crap gets free press too as article fluff. Just gotta be savvy when playing the game.

    2. Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. by thephotoman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There's a reason why they restrict it.

      With large volume books by big name authors (JKR is currently the biggest name out there right now), strict release dates are set to make sure that the giant suppliers (who pay more to get quicker shipping and more copies) don't snatch up the customers from smaller bookstores by having the book two to three weeks earlier than the smaller stores.

      Basically, it's there to make sure that every bookstore has an equal chance to make a sale on a high-demand book. Normal books aren't like this: they just get put on the shelf whenever they arrive. You've got to be somebody BIG (we're talking multiple titles on the bestseller lists at the same time here) to earn the right to a release date.

      I have friends who used to manage bookstores. That's why this is done. It's simply a way of leveling the playing field so that small stores can compete.

      --
      Haec merda tauri est. Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.
    3. Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. by minus_273 · · Score: 3, Funny

      that was a reasonable post that made a lot of sense. It also goes against the tone of the discussion here. Expected to get falmed.

      --
      The war with islam is a war on the beast
      The war on terror is a war for peace
    4. Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. by Skippy_kangaroo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's marketing - no more, no less. By creating anticipation and supply restrictions they are seeking to drive more sales and make more money. They probably get evening news coverage of the midnight launch and more people will buy the book to see what all the fuss is about.

    5. Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. by Drakino · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If I had mod points, the marketing post above would have points added.

      Anyhow, I have to agree. By pushing not only a big new release, but also a date around this release, you build up a lot of anticipation. By doing this, the marketing people can ensure all the hardcore fans are all lined up at once, buy the book right away, and start blathering to friends about how they should read it soon. The previous big date and single release time will more then likely generate news coverage, and the person being recommended to the book might consider it more, as they remember the hype and figure it must be worth a look. Without the single release date, that person only has his friend recommending it, and no hype from the press.

      The fans of the book seem to be very rabid at times. Considering in the past it was a big story when a truck got stolen containing a shipment of the last book.

      This type of tatic works well for Apple as well. I'm sure they have sold a fair number of copies of OS X to existing users at the release parties not only getting the new release, but seeing demos of what is new. They then spread this to friends, and so more people consider buying it. Without a single release date, it would be less likely that someone would attend these release events at a local Apple dealer, as their big chain store down the road was likely to have a copy sooner, but with no hype around the release.

    6. Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. by moofdaddy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Reasonable but not true unfortunitly. Laydown dates are not restricted to best selling titles. Last Tuesday we had 11 laydowns alone, among the list was heavy hitters like the new woodward book but also you'll find a couple of crappy romance novels.

      Do you really think publishers are worried about the plight of the little book store? if you do then I have some land to sell you. A laydown date ensures a smooth launch. Could you imainge the chaos if for example poter was released by book stores as it came in? A shipment comes in to one barnes and noble but not another, it'd be chaos and people would just give up and wait.

      By your argument, why don't movie theaters just start playing movies the day the reel comes in (which is typically a couple of days before it airs) or why movies (dvds, etc) and games are released on specific days?

      --
      Be better in bed. Wikiafterdark!
    7. Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. by quantaman · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Do you really think publishers are worried about the plight of the little book store?

      Yes, because if all the little book stores go out of buisness the publishers would be at the mercy of the few big bookstores and have to jump through hoops to get their books carried.

      A diversified customer base is definatly in the interests of any supplier

      By your argument, why don't movie theaters just start playing movies the day the reel comes in (which is typically a couple of days before it airs) or why movies (dvds, etc) and games are released on specific days?

      I don't know about games but it would be a lot harder for a theatre to quietly show a movie a couple days early. As it happens another poster mentioned with movie rentals (a better analogy) this apparently happens a lot.

      --
      I stole this Sig
    8. Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. by jd0g85 · · Score: 2, Insightful
      "The ONLY way potter will lose sales is if an advance copy hits the internet a few days before its for sale"

      I for one am waiting for a friend or family member to buy and read it that way I can simply borrow a copy from them. The "only" way it can lose sales as far as I'm concerned is to be too expensive, which it already is.

      --
      There is no belief, however foolish, that will not gather its faithful adherents who will defend it to the death.-Asimov
    9. Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. by AaronStJ · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Do you really think the big pulishers give a shit about the small bookstores? Hint, they don't.

      It's all about revenue. By having a well publicised street date, they create a false scarcity and a sort of frenzy in the consumers (not the readers -- the consumers, the people with the money). The consumers know they can't get it until whatever date, and when that date comes, they jump on it and pay their 30 bucks for the hardcover. Without the artifical frenzy of the street date, they might not buy the hardcove the day it comes out. They might not buy it at all. They might go for the trade or - god forbid - the mass market paperback. Worst of all, they might borrow it from a friend! Imagine that, all that enjoyment without paying Big Media a dime. It's criminal! Don't even get me started on libraries. Little pinko Bolshevik communes, every one.

      Protexting the small bookstores might be a nice thing for the publishers to talk about -- it makes the proles feels fuzzy inside -- but if it wasn't for the fact that they can make twice as much at Barnes & Noble by having a big, hyped midnight release like Revenge of the Atttack of the Phanton Clones, they wouldn't be doing it. Fuck the small retailers. If doing a big release meant twice as much BN revenue and the smaller bookstores had to sell their children to stay in business, they'd still do it.

      It's not about small bookstores. I doubt JK's publishers gave them a second thought. It's revenue. And it's not revenue from Fran's Book Barn, either.

      --
      Stupid like a fox!
    10. Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. by hey! · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The article reminded me of a discussion I took part in many years ago about a 24 hour student run coffee house.

      ...

      Student 1: The dining service hates the coffee house because it's competition. They'd love to shut it down.

      Student 2: Yeah, that's so fascist.

      Student 1: Where are we supposed get coffee when we're studying late? They close the dining hall at 7:30.

      Student 2: Yeah, those fascists want us to buy all our food from them, but they can't be bothered to stay open when we need it.

      Me (to student 2): What exactly do you mean by "fascist"?

      Student 2: Well, you know, like fascist.

      Me: What I want to know is, can you actually define the word "fascist"?

      Student 2: ** nonplussed **

      Student 1 (indicating Student 2): "Fascist" is anything he doesn't like.

      ...

      Now, I'm really against fascism. Or at least I was pretty sure I was against it until my brother in law, who is a college professor and thus a professional sower of doubt, managed to undermine my confidence in my definition of fascism. After all, what would people like Mussolini or me know about fascism? We can barely define "semiotics". But I'll go out on a limb and say that despite my highly unscholarly view of what fascism is, I'm inclined to hate and despise it.

      It also happens to be true I'd really get pissed off if I couldn't get a cup of coffee at 1AM in the morning.

      And, if I'm brutally honest with myself, I'll have to admit it's more probable that I'd do something about the coffee house getting shut down than the country going fascist. I don't like believing this, but the truth is, we feel the loss of our comforts and pleasures keenly. Maybe not more keenly than the loss of our rights, but certainly more keenly about the erosion of our rights. That's what makes authoritarianism so insidious: they promise you it won't affect anything you want to do, they won't curtail your pleasures and comforts. If anything they promise to make you more comfortable and prosperous. Any pain that you might feel is in the fuzzy and undefined future. When the consequences become clear, it's too late. Fuzziness is key. You might not believe they can make the trains run on time, but if you don't see any real cost to yourself, you aren't going to be inclined to to stop them from trying.

      For that reason, people like my friend Student #2 above are highly useful to the authoritarian. Consciously or not, they actually accept and promote the questionable premises the authoritarian wants to foist on the public. Suppose the premise is fascism is about efficiency and practicality. Most people would agree that it would be nice if the dining hall were open 24 hours, but don't think of it as a moral evil if it doesn't. They understand that if the dining hall were open 7x24, that the meal plans would be more expensive. It's something you can live with and work around. That's exactly what the fascist wants you to think about uniting the powers of the state and business so they can serve each other's interests: it's efficient and you can work around the downside. It's a double bonus: the more people who think A is like B, the more credible the idea feels. The fact that people who don't like B are nutjobs makes people who don't like A seem like nutjobs too.

      The cumulative result of years of this is that, while we can all agree we hate and despise facism, we can't agree on what it is. So you can promote any piece of the facist agenda you want, so long as you don't actually call it fascism. If somebody else calls it "fascist", then so much the better: the term is so useless now that only political wackos use it.

      We're pretty close to this point with attacks on freedom of expression. Choosing when to publish a book is not digital rights management. It's something that virtually everybody can agree is within t

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    11. Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think the submitter wasn't seriously suggesting DRM, but rather trying to say that this was some sort of DRM.

      It isn't DRM at all! I think you missed the statement that the 'D' in DRM means 'digital'? Please state what parts of Scholastic's activities are digital.

      There is nothing in the book that prevents the buyer from scaning pages or uploading them either. The 'RM' barely fits as well, being 'rights management'. It is only an elaborate system to try to prevent the sale of a physical item before street date.

      It's not a copy protection mechanism, what they are doing is preventing the sale of the book before street date. That is a way to level the playing field for retailers, nothing to do with the end user at all.

    12. Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. by Martin+Blank · · Score: 2, Informative

      Amazon and B&N have it for $18 for 672 pages (list price is $30). That's a pretty common price for a large hardbound novel.

      --
      You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
    13. Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. by ultranova · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Exactly, there is no "good" drm. This is the same bullshit we're all accustomed to around here. Why is this sort of behavior all of the sudden OK for this one book, with it's overzealous release policy. This whole thing sounds ridiculous to me, especially just to "protect" a book from being read.

      None of the measures given in summary have anything to do with DRM or keeping the book from being read. They are about keeping the book from being sold before the release date set by the publisher. A bit like movies usually open in multiple theaters simultaneously.

      The book in question is a paper edition, so why did the summary mention Digital Restrictions Management ? And what was that nonsense about "Harry Potter protecting his rights" - was this entire article a troll ? Or is someone trying to discredit Stallman's "The Right to Read" (mentioned in the summary) by getting it connected with this kind of nonsense ?

      So yeah, this is bullshit - from Slashdot, not Rowling :).

      Now lets see how many times this story, which is libelous (talking about DRM where there is none) bullshit and not related to technology in any way, gets reposted.

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

  2. They shoulda used... by cloudofstrife · · Score: 5, Funny
    Magic! If Harry Potter is making so much money off of these books, he could spare a spell or two to protect the books from being read before the time they go on sale.

    inanicus librarius!

  3. I have another idea by Approaching.sanity · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why not just, I don't know, make the book available as soon as it is ready instead of keeping to an artificial release date.

    --
    RTFA again for the best results.
    1. Re:I have another idea by mbrewthx · · Score: 2, Insightful

      What and have the book out before the cross promotional items such as the action figures are ready???

      I think not there is a machine to run and it all leaves the station on the same day.

      --
      __________ Leave me alone I'm compiling a RPG II program on my S/36...Thanks to metamucil I'm a Regular Meta Moderator
    2. Re:I have another idea by kinzillah · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "Hey buddy, I have one and you can buy it before anyone else for only $150" Thats what they're trying to prevent. Gouging. This is perfectly acceptable.

      --
      Douglas P. Price
    3. Re:I have another idea by aussie_a · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "Hey buddy, I have one and you can buy it before anyone else for only $150" Thats what they're trying to prevent. Gouging. This is perfectly acceptable.

      Customers practicing something called self-restraint would also acheive this. But no, it's much better to have customers need publishers to stop themselves from being screwed over.

      Adults are able to control their desires to a degree, and not need something as soon as it's available. Creating an artificial release date is just silly, and if it truly is to avoid certain distributors from price-gouging, it says that the publisher doesn't think that it's customers* aren't adult enough to be able to decide how much they want to spend on a product.

      * Parents should be buying the books for their children, especially if the books $150. Good parents are able to say no to their kids.

  4. Already Redundant but... by saskboy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This isn't Digital Rights Management

    There is no "Digital" in PRINT books.

    ARGGGGHHH! Please Mr. Submitter, know the terms you are using. Yes DRM is bad, but the first DRM I am aware of is floppy disks with copy protection. That's the oldest there is, everything else before that was just "rights management".

    --
    Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
    1. Re:Already Redundant but... by Seumas · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I don't even get the submitter's point. Because the publisher wants you to wait until midnight instead of 11:00PM to buy their book, it's some sort of orwellian intellectual property digital rights holocaust?!

      Does that mean that if an author makes you wait until their book is published, rather than giving out copies of their first rough draft, they're somehow "evil coporate slogs"?!

      Is the submitter angry when he has to wait until the first showing of a movie at midnight or 12:20 in the afternoon rather than being able to watch it the day before? After all, they probably have the reel somewhere in the building on a thursday - so why should you have to wait until FRIDAY to see it?! OMGWTF!!!!one!!!11levenone!!!!11!

  5. Er? by MrNonchalant · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Christ, its a bloody childen's book not freaking gold bars.

    1. Re:Er? by eclectro · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Christ, its a bloody childen's book not freaking gold bars

      I think that the author JK Rowlings would beg to differ with you.

      --
      Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
    2. Re:Er? by danheskett · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The original manuscript would be worth well more than any gold. An exclusive dozen of the books available today, 7 days before the release would also be worth more than it's weight in gold, I imagine. Let's see, say a hardcover versions weights two pounds, thats, what, $15,000 or so worth of gold? I am sure you could sell one for more than that right now, today.

    3. Re:Er? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Let's see, say a hardcover versions weights two pounds, thats, what, $15,000 or so worth of gold? I am sure you could sell one for more than that right now, today.

      Perhaps, but unlike Harry Potter books, gold will always be worth its weight in gold.

  6. Security at the press by a_greer2005 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I have heard from someone who eould know first hand that security at the print facility, secuity is insainly tight. random person searches, tons of cameras, lots of extra guards, it is like Fort Knox.

  7. Counter Charm by pete-classic · · Score: 3, Funny

    Well, I certainly hope they thought to use a counter-charm for Alohomora.

    -Peter

  8. What's with the allusions and conspiracies? by phorm · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm all for Harry Potter protecting his rights; but it seems we keep getting closer and closer to the world described in Stallman's visionary The Right To Read article.

    What exactly is wrong with protecting your product? In a world of rip-offs and general immorality it's not very uncommon for products to be ripped off before release, or stolen from trucks/docks/etc

    I myself know of workers who admit to stealing the cargo they're supposed to be loading.

    There's a lot planned around the time release of the product, and realistically while they are securing to get the biggest "bang" for their own bucks, the publisher is also making things more fair for the distributers by ensuring that everyone gets the same release date, and thus no one store can steal the business from others early

  9. This is idiotic. by TexasDex · · Score: 4, Insightful
    "Right to read?"

    I read that essay and this has nothing to do with it--and everything to do with a company trying to keep up the suspense of a massive bestseller right until the publishing date. And then after that all the locks go off and this will be distributed just like any other book.

    --
    The Cheese Stands Alone.
  10. ahh.. no.. by danheskett · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is a joke.

    First, DRM of course means "DIGITAL", this is anything but digital.

    Second, this has nothing to do with "rights". You have no right to a harry potter book. You have no right to a harry potter book before it's supposed to be released. You have no right to read a wrongly acquired book so you dont have to wait a few days.

    Third, this type of crap dilutes the idea of a "right". You DO have the right to free speach, to freely assemble, to seek a redress of your grievances. You DO NOT have the right to steal someone elses physcial and yes intellectual property by getting a Harry Potter book (a) without paying for it and (b) against the express wishes of the author and publisher.

    GROW UP.

    1. Re:ahh.. no.. by ThreeE · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Here's a clue for you: just because someone wants to make a living and get paid for what they do doesn't mean they don't make quality products and love and their work.

      Altruism is fine and great, but it doesn't pay the rent/mortgage or pay for the common defense.

  11. Jumping on the bandwagon by the_weasel · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Without a doubt the dumbest summary I have ever read on Slashdot. So many half baked connections and FUD, I can only think it boils down to this : Someone in Slashdot editorial wanted to put up a Harry Potter story to sync up with the building media hype around the release, and this was the best they could come up with.

    Shameful.

    --
    - sarcasm is just one more service we offer -
    1. Re:Jumping on the bandwagon by mrscorpio · · Score: 2, Funny

      Leave it to Timothy, the uncontested king of stupid editors here. Seriously, he's a fucktard.

  12. Huh? by interiot · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Nice try at trying to shoehorn this into a Slashdot story.

    It's not digital rights management, because there's no digital product being managed.

    Also, putting a sign up is not social engineering as others have pointed out. As the word "engineering" implies, usually more thought and cleverness is required before people consider something to be social hacking or social manipulation.

  13. Release Dates. by Gannoc · · Score: 5, Insightful


    The reason you have release dates is so that ALL dealers have a chance to sell the book. Otherwise the stores with better distribution systems would get it in stock first, while the others would have to wait.

    Then the publisher would have to worry about which store to ship to first, because the first store who receives it has a massive sales boost.

    Eventually, every small bookstore goes out of business.

    This whole submission makes no sense. It has nothing to do with DRM.

    1. Re:Release Dates. by gbulmash · · Score: 4, Interesting
      The reason you have release dates is so that ALL dealers have a chance to sell the book. Otherwise the stores with better distribution systems would get it in stock first, while the others would have to wait.

      This is also the reason many home video arms of the studios have "street dates" for video releases. Right after college, I temped in various studios in Los Angeles. One interesting job was calling up video stores that had "broken street" (started selling or renting a video before the authorized date), getting the manager on the phone, and then transferring them to a mid-level Disney exec, who would reduce them to jello.

      What was interesting, though, was the water cooler talk. If Costco or Walmart broke street, they didn't get the intimidating phone call. While the little guys couldn't afford to lose Disney, Disney couldn't afford to lose Costco and Walmart.

      - Greg

      --
      Start a happiness pandemic
    2. Re:Release Dates. by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 2, Interesting

      What was interesting, though, was the water cooler talk. If Costco or Walmart broke street, they didn't get the intimidating phone call. While the little guys couldn't afford to lose Disney, Disney couldn't afford to lose Costco and Walmart.

      It has gone even further than that.

      Best Buy gets to "break street date" by a couple of months on such series as: Battlestar Galactica and Space: Above and Beyond and charge full MSRP too -- why wouldn't they when they don't have to worry about competition for months?

      --
      When information is power, privacy is freedom.
  14. I want PAPER by gbulmash · · Score: 3, Interesting
    First, regardless of how easy it would be to use e-books with DRM, it would be a tragedy if they went that route. There's a tactile pleasure to a real dead trees paper book: its weight, the texture of its pages, curling up with it. I have never read a novel via the electronic route and doubt I ever will. Technical books, business books, books I want to study... e-books are great there. But I don't want to read entertainment books -- the ones I read 30-pages of before bed, or lay on the couch and read -- off a screen. I want to read them off paper.

    Anyway, DRM based on a "do not read before" timestamp would be hard to effect. It would require that any reader be set with an unhackable internal clock that knows the time zone the reader is in, otherwise people could circumvent the "do not read before" settings rather handily.

    I think the argument here is a bit difficult to support.

    - Greg

    --
    Start a happiness pandemic
  15. Oops, these laws are garbage. by rice_burners_suck · · Score: 2, Interesting
    The next thing you know, there will be draconian laws protecting "content." The purported purpose of these laws will be to protect the people who make this so called "content"--that is, people like artists, musicians, authors, programmers, actors, and others. Unfortunately, the real use of the laws, in practice, will be to line the pockets of already incredibly rich multinational corporations, which will hardly--if at all--give the people whom the laws are purported to protect--enough money to even survive. Then, these same multinational corporations, which will keep all the profits to themselves, will hunt down and prosecute anybody who does anything with "content" with which the multinationals are not happy, in the name of protecting the persons whom the same multinationals are not paying enough, despite making a killing off those very same works.

    Oh, wait, that already happened.

  16. Re:Red paper? by xXBondsXx · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's Harry Potter, not Satan's bible!

    --
    The voice of the next generation. "In this tower, in my mind..." Babble - Tower
  17. Holy ... by cobrabyte · · Score: 2, Funny


    Has Steve Jobs taken up a position at Scholastic?

    Thought he was the only man to go to such extremes.

    -c

  18. Re:Why? by Rick+Zeman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why exactly are they doing this? If the book slips out a few hours early it's not like it will be ripped and reprinted in illegal copies before the real version officially goes on sale. I just don't see the point of this much security.

    Are parents really going to line up at midnight to buy a kids book? Why bother? the kid should be in bed at that time anyways.

    You're kidding, right? For the last few books' midnight release dates, the lines have looked like the childrens' version of all of the l00sers lining up for Windows 95 oh-so-many years ago.

    Any parent whose kid is THAT eager to read a book--any book--should be encouraged, even if it's staying up late on a summer night. Beats the hell out of them staying home playing GTA or something else equally mind-numbing.

  19. Re:Red paper? by gbulmash · · Score: 4, Informative
    It's Harry Potter, not Satan's bible!

    Tell that to the fundamentalists who burn Harry Potter books and try to get them banned from school and public libraries. Witchcraft and wizardry are prohibited by scripture, and the Harry Potter series paints such occult pursuits not only in a positive light, but places people who practice these evil arts in the role of hero and role model.

    I'm not saying I agree with that point of view. But in some people's minds, Harry Potter is closer to Satan's Bible than you may realize.

    - Greg

    --
    Start a happiness pandemic
  20. Point Missed by z0ink · · Score: 4, Informative

    Scholastic isn't trying to take away anybodies rights here. This is common practice in competitive markets for big title releases. For example: Barnes & Noble manages to release the new book 2 days earlier than anybody else. What happens? Since B&N only has a limitied quantity and demand is so high, they quickly sell all their stock and make a bundle. This would be good for B&N, but it would hurt every other bookstore in the market, thus being an unfair practice. This isn't new. Just look at how strict video game releases are.

    --
    Steal This Sig
  21. Out of Touch with Reality? by Quirk · · Score: 4, Funny
    "I'm all for Harry Potter protecting his rights; but it seems we keep getting closer and closer to the world described in Stallman's visionary The Right To Read article."

    Just a little nit to pick but... uhm you see Harry Potter is a fictional character. J. Rawlings in the author of the Harry Potter books and she is protecting her rights. Now as to Richard Stallman being real or a work of visionary fiction, well, that is a moot point.

    --
    "Academicians are more likely to share each other's toothbrush than each other's nomenclature."
    Cohen
  22. Actually, it is by Krankheit · · Score: 4, Informative

    I think what they mean is that empty crates have been marked "Do Not Open before Midnight" so that a miscreant will be go for those crates first. It is a classic social engineering technique. Like putting out a junk laptop in the view of a theif that says "important data" so he will run off with that one and not go for where the data really is (the server.) I do agree that it is not really digital rights management, but nonetheless, GPS is digital. ;)

    --
    Powered by caffeine and sugar; BSD
  23. Street Dates are Important... by BackInIraq · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why not just, I don't know, make the book available as soon as it is ready instead of keeping to an artificial release date.

    They're trying to prevent two things:

    1) Price gouging..."yeah, you can buy it 3 days early, it'll only cost you 10 extra dollars!"

    2) Retailers who get the books earlier from having an unreasonable advantage over those that don't. This often translates to large retailers versus small retailers...Target already has an advantage on price, now imagine if they also had it on the shelves 2 or 3 days early.

    Street dates are nothing new, and certainly not a bad thing. This has been an accepted practice on movies, music, and books for quite some time, long before Harry Potter was ever concieved. When you're releasing something like a book or a movie to thousands upon thousands or retailers, it's impossible to get it to all of them the same day...street dates are established so the item appears on everybody's shelves at the same time, thus promoting fair competition.

    We do like fair competition here, right?

    1. Re:Street Dates are Important... by BackInIraq · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I can't recall ever having known the street date for any book I have ever bought, or even cared about it for that matter. I most certainly have never seen any book other than the Harry Potter series have a street date be the subject of the general press, let alone any form of "security" whatsoever.

      Books generally don't recieve this kind of attention, because there isn't that much marketing associated with them. However, you have probably known the street date for movies or music you've bought (assuming you buy these things) even if you didn't realize it. Street dates for movies are well advertised, especially big releases. And that "this item won't be released until" notice you see on Amazon.com is also letting you know the street date. The only reason you are seeing this with Harry Potter is because of the large popularity of the book...the concept is nothing new. Walk into a Barnes and Noble and look around...you'll see signs posted announcing the street dates of various upcoming books. The only reason it doesn't make news is because nobody cares...they aren't as popular as Harry Potter.

      The publishers did not create the frenzy on this on, sorry to say. The customers did. And they are only enforcing their release dates this strictly because the more popular the item, the more likely the street date will be broken.

      This whole schmegegy has little to nothing to do with fair competition, but a whole lot to do with marketing, drumming up the fervor of the torch and pitchfork bearing mob that makes it appear the security measures are necessary in the first place.

      I can say it is very much about fair competition. Think of it this way...do you think that Harry Potter would sell that many less copies if a few stores sold it a day or two early? I don't. So it does NOT affect the publisher. But by enforcing a release date they can protect themselves against accusations of favoring one chain of bookstores over another, for instance, because they got their copies first and it gives that bookstore an unfair advantage.

      You may or may not have ever worked in retail, so this might seem like it's a new thing to you. I was once manager of a Blockbuster Video (evil bastards that they are). We would sometimes get movies as much as a week before their release date. But our agreement with distributors forbade us from displaying them until the official release date. Not only did we honor that, but at random we would actually send employees to other stores to make sure that nobody else broke street date either.

      Again, street dates and the strict enforcement of them are nothing new. The advertisement of them is nothing new either. Walk into any video store (and even many bookstores, as mentioned) and you'll see posted the dates of upcoming releases. The only reason this is news at all is because of the gigantic popularity of the Harry Potter book that's coming out. And that buzz was _not_ created by the publisher for the release of this book...it was created by the widespread popularity of the previous books. The Harry Potter books are as popular as many blockbuster movies, and they are being treated as such. I personally find it uplifting to see a book getting this kind of treatement; I had long since gave up and figured that most people in the US were just illiterate.

  24. Stupid, stupid, stupid.... by sllim · · Score: 4, Insightful

    None of these things really impede on our consumer rights.
    The point of the embargo is so that if store A gets the book three days before store B they don't mark it up by 200 percent.

    Now eBooks, more importantly DRM ebooks - there is some serious erosion of rights.
    With the physical book I can read it, then I can give it to others to read. It is really a hell of an investment. What $25 - $30 and the usefulness is unlimited when you consider that once it is bought there is no limit to the number of individuals that can read it.

    But the entire point of DRM eBooks is to force the public to purchase one book per reader.

    I stand behind Scholastic on this one.

    Besides, you are talking bad about Harry Potter. Rowling deserves a medal. She has written a series of books that CHILDREN WANT TO READ. That is so cool.

    1. Re:Stupid, stupid, stupid.... by BCW2 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The actual point of the embargo is that no books will get into the publics hands before 12:01 AM July 16, thats all. This is to make sure that nobody scans the last chapter and posts it on the web before 12:30 AM. Don't ruin the plot for the rest.

      My youngest daughter started reading the books when the third one came out, is now 16 and can't wait for book 6. She even got my wife and I to read them, along with her older sisters. Not a bad story at all, and yes Rowling deserves a medal for getting a large part of an entire generation reading.

      --
      Professional Politicians are not the solution, they ARE the problem.
  25. Submitter is an idiot. Scholastic is right. by DrJimbo · · Score: 2, Insightful
    I wish we lived in a world where all the publisher need do is ask politely that no copies of the book be sold before midnight and everyone respected their request. But in our media hyped world, that is just not going to happen.

    I fully support Scholastic's decision to take what steps are necessary to try to ensure that everyone gets an equal shot at reading the book before it gets spoiled all over the press.

    It is too bad that they need to do all of these things to give everyone an equal shot, but that is hardly Scholastic's fault. If they didn't take these measures, we would be calling them morons for not taking reasonable precautions. In fact, they would probably get their asses sued off by unhappy readers.

    --
    We don't see the world as it is, we see it as we are.
    -- Anais Nin
  26. Re:Why? by Muerto · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Welcome to the age where parents can't say no and instant gratification is more important then an education. Yes, there will be plenty of parents lining up with and without their fat kids in tow.

    did you seriously post that? Yes.. those darn fat unhealthy book worms. Kids shouldn't be allowed to read or even be excited about books. Shame on those uneducated book readers!!!

    Oh.. and smarty pants.. it's "more important than" Not then.
    seriously, perhaps if you read more you would know this.

    i couldn't believe this post.. it's so ....crazy. I would call it a troll because someone is going to flip over how ignorant this post is. You don't have kids do you?

  27. And others do the opposite... by shmlco · · Score: 3, Interesting
    And others do the exact opposite. Baen Books, for example, has the latest David Weber/Honor Harringtion novel At All Costs, available for download now.

    Or you can wait until November when it's available in print. The trick is that the download is an "Advance Readers Copy", which they say is unproofed and may change before final publication.

    Translation: Buy this one because you can't wait, and then buy the "release" downloadable version in August, and then buy the hardback in November.

    At least on the site they admit up front they're taking advantage of you. But either "pre-release" or "strict release", the idea is to drum up interest and business.

    --
    Any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
    1. Re:And others do the opposite... by Firethorn · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Actually, you're buying the preview edition now, to be updated to the final version when it's released. You just have to download it again. As in, you've just payed 3x the normal price for a baen ebook to get it early. But at least they're being honest about it:

      You can wait, but if you are a true Weber and Honor Harrington addict we want to take advantage of you. Order At All Costs, Aka Honor #11 now instead of when it debuts as a WebScription title, (August 2005) Here's your deal:


      I'm almost ready to buy it now, just for that honesty.

      I've bought a number of baen e-books, preceisly because they have no DRM. You can download them in RTF & HTML, for pete's sake! You can't get any less DRM than that.
      --
      I don't read AC A human right
  28. Hey, here's an idea! by serutan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Think how much cheaper and easier it would be if they just used an E-book s with DRM.

    Think how much cheaper and easier it would be if they just shipped it out like other books and didn't fucking worry about it.
    Naww, crazy idea, don't know what came over me!

  29. Sorry by Mr2001 · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Ideas and information will never be "property", no matter how long people who have something to gain from restricting them keep repeating the mantra intellectual property, intellectual property...

    Thomas Jefferson said it best:
    That ideas should freely spread from one to another over the globe, for the moral and mutual instruction of man, and improvement of his condition, seems to have been peculiarly and benevolently designed by nature, when she made them, like fire, expansible over all space, without lessening their density at any point, and like the air in which we breathe, move, and have our physical being, incapable of confinement or exclusive appropriation. Inventions then cannot, in nature, be a subject of property.
    --
    Visual IRC: Fast. Powerful. Free.
  30. No, it doesn't by NitsujTPU · · Score: 4, Insightful

    it seems we keep getting closer and closer to the world described in Stallman's visionary The Right To Read article.

    No, they want a big release. Since when has building up a little anticipation been a crime? Scholastic is enforcing this in a fine fashion. They are stepping on nobody's rights, all they said is "if you mess this up for us, we're not doing business with you again.".

  31. Content is Crucial by Regnard · · Score: 2, Insightful

    In my opinion, novels and movies are the ones that should really, really put an effort to have a good security on its initial release. Why? Unlike songs and non-fiction books, once the story is leaked or spoiled, the interest just dies down. I wouldn't blame Scholastic for being paranoid to protect their business.

    --
    Need a color? Try 100 random colors
  32. Re:legal notices by PurpleFloyd · · Score: 2, Funny
    The special covering? Inside sources* tell me it's a special technology known as a "plain brown bag," which has been used to cover printed material for more than half a century.

    First time it's ever been used on anything intended for children, though.

    * Not really.

    --

    That's it. I'm no longer part of Team Sanity.
  33. This is a big event for young people by Simonetta · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A new Harry Potter book is a big event for young people. Young being 9-15 years old. In my city the huge local bookstore stays open on a Harry Potter release night until about 2am. Children and young people show up by the hundreds; dressed up as their favorite Potter character. They actually convince their parents to bring them downtown and let them stay up until 1am when they fall asleep in car on the way home with their new Harry Potter book in their hands.

    A new Windows release midnight sale is just a dud fest for insomniac nerds. But a new Harry Potter release is a big event for young people, bigger than Christmas. For most suburban 12 year olds, it's the first time being at public gathering late at night outside their home. They probably won't be downtown again after midnight until they're old enough to sneak into clubs with fake ID.

  34. So what's to stop a 1000+ people... by gmezero · · Score: 2, Interesting

    who pick up their books at midnight from their book sellers, and then each one of those people scans in one page... Then they each OCR their page and post it to a undetermined newsgroup...

    Then what, by 12:15, the book is electronic and free on the net. What was that about DRM?

    I wonder if something like that could be pulled off, and just how quick everyone of those posters would receive their legal notices. Yikes! =8^O

    Well, screw it, Amazon is delivering my copy, and it's hiding away till my kids birthday at the end of the month. :)

    1. Re:So what's to stop a 1000+ people... by tade · · Score: 2, Informative

      There was an insident in Finland where (young) fans would translate the english version in a group effort where each one of them would translate a small section and then they did combine their efforts by posting it to a forum.

      Well as you probably guessed the people doing the official translation were not amused but it just shows how much can be done with a bit of group effort.

  35. Non sequitur by dr.badass · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This story has nothing to do with DRM or the "right to read". It concerns a publisher protecting it's assets before they go on sale. If you think a publisher shouldn't be able to decide when to start selling it's books, you're out of your fucking mind.

    After you buy the book, your rights are the same as with any other book.

    Your rights are not being infringed upon.
    There is nothing to see here.
    Have a nice day.

    --
    Don't become a regular here -- you will become retarded.
  36. Predicting a Future AP Story by mac+os+ken · · Score: 2, Funny
    "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" was leaked to the public in (city) by (bookstore worker/six year old/daylight savings time error) thereby inciting (riots/the apocalypse/spontaneous seppuku) at a local (bookstore/adult store/comic bookery)."

    Just watch the papers people...

    --
    .deviatefromtheabsolute.
  37. It's Your Fault. by darkfnord23 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You buy the books, which is why the "intellectual property" is so valuable.

    Create and/or participate in a non-commercial culture if this stuff bothers you.

  38. Re:Stallman a visionary?? RMS factoid/defense by iamcf13 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    elgee: Stallman is a crackpot. No more, no less.

    Tell that to the MacArthur Fellowship people.

    They gave RMS one of their 'genius grants' back in 1990.

    Strange, a year later, Linus Torvalds began work on the software kernel that 'bears' his name.

    Is he a crackpot too?

    IBM doesn't think so. They invested heavily in Linux making it more that some obscure 'hobby OS'.

    Then there is '(Ex) Chairman Bill' who happened to be at the right place at the right time and made the 'deal of a lifetime' at the dawn of the PC era that eventually made him the world's wealthiest man.

    Is Bill Gates a crackpot?

    Crackpot or not, the USA decided not to break Microsoft up like they did AT&T back in 1984.

    That should give you some idea how much clout some people have in the world.

    Too bad 'money makes the world go around' instead of something less...monetary....

  39. Cheaper and easier? by Danj2k · · Score: 2, Interesting

    There's two things wrong with this idea. Firstly, what format are they going to put it in that doesn't have some "workaround" available? Secondly, I've heard that Rowling hates the idea of ebooks and that this is why none of the Potter books have (legitimately) ever appeared in ebook format, which is a bit of a shame really.

  40. Well, um, who gives a fuck? by vmfedor · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why does this even matter? It's their book, they can do whatever the hell they want with it. It's not harming anyone. I say, let those idiots waste their money and squander their profits on such ridiculous security measures.

    --

    I like my women how I like my sugar.. granulated.

  41. She wouldn't be a millionaire with e-books by Nice2Cats · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Think how much cheaper and easier it would be if they just used an E-books with DRM.

    Yeah, except that e-books are only used by a small and to my mind somewhat confused micro-minority, and for good reason -- you are not going to sell 500 trillion of them, or whatever the number is they are aiming for this Harry Potter (full disclosure: I have the whole series, too). E-books are a pain to read in the sun, are a risk to read in the bathtub, can't be dog-eared (my book, my rules), won't survive having your backpack thrown in your locker, writing a note on the second page when you give them to your kid sister is sort of hard, and you can't include them in your Delicious Library, just to name a few real-life problems. In other words: E-books are good for the publishing company, but not for the customer.

    I would like to predict they are going to die like web push technology. But unfortunately, capitalism in the 21th Century is not about what the customer wants, it is about what big multinationals can get away with. When you buy an e-book, you are helping them screw you. If you want a tech toy to look cool, get a frigging iPod, that's what they are there for. But please don't support the attempt to kill something that has served the human mind for more than 2000 years.

  42. Re:Taking things too seriously. by shadowmas · · Score: 2, Insightful

    i think this concept of releasing the harry potter book at the same time worldwide is a good thing. reason being that if they were to do it any other way then some places would obiviously release the books earlier than others and then those who can get the books early would sell those books at a higher price. this synchronous releasing of the books prevent that.

    also like other posters have said this is anything but DRM. what scholastic is doing is not governing what the readers will be doing with the book but only when they (scholostic) will start selling it.

  43. If I ran a book shop by t_allardyce · · Score: 3, Interesting

    1. receive truck load of harry potter books

    2. sign legal document declaring they will never give me any more books if i break the contract

    3. start massive advertising (pre-planed) campaign: Internet, tv, driving a van around with a poster and megaphone all within minutes of getting the book in stock

    4. offer the books to the absolute highest bidders, take advantage of rich kids, yank the prices up as high as they can possibly go.

    5. Call up scholastic say: "If you want me to stop selling these books I will sell you my remaining stock.. for a fee, and even give you a list of people I sold them to."

    6. Proffit

    This isn't real DRM, and it certainly isn't to stop piracy, this is just their hype machine and if you play it right you can make some serious profit off it and probably quite legally except for that pesky civil court.

    --
    This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
    1. Re:If I ran a book shop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny
      If I ran a book shop, I'd plaster the shop front with Harry Potter posters announcing that I was opening the shop at 00:01am next Saturday to start selling the book then just not turn up to open the shop.

      I'd just turn up at the back of the crowd somewhere with a digital camera taking pictures of all the spoilt brats screaming at their parents at 1am, when they finally decide to give up queuing.

      All the more fun if it's pouring with rain then also...

  44. Print Harry Potter, No thanks by fl00ty · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I work for a book binding company here in the states, and with the last title we all had to sign contracts stating that if we even told anyone we were printing the book, we would be fired and legal action would be brought against us. We wrapped all the pallets of books in black plastic and had people guarding the trailer where they were stored, so this year when they came to us to print Half Blood Prince, we kept raising our price until they went away. Too much of a hassle for a title we only do every other year or so.

  45. half right by Mr.+Underbridge · · Score: 3, Insightful
    It's marketing - no more, no less. By creating anticipation and supply restrictions they are seeking to drive more sales and make more money. They probably get evening news coverage of the midnight launch and more people will buy the book to see what all the fuss is about.

    Anticipation yes, restricted supply no. They get as many books out there as they can, so they're not playing the whole "beanie baby" trick where you sell someone a piece of shit, but they want it because it's "rare." Scholastic gets as many copies of HP in stores as they can. In fact, one reason they choose the date is because they *don't* want a restricted supply issue - they don't want either 1) pirates or 2) stores who get the book first to have an advantage.

    They want supply to go from 0 to near infinite immediately, so everyone can get a book, pirates have no mathod of making money, and they don't have to play favorites as to which stores get the book first. That way no one gets pissed off.

  46. From my customer: by bigattichouse · · Score: 2, Informative

    WRITTEN GUIDELINES FOR BOOKSELLERS

    Dear Bookseller,

    Now that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is arriving or has already arrived in your warehouses and stores, and especially with the weekend before the release upon us, we want to ask your continued vigilance in maintaining the highest level of security around the books. We do not want any "spoilers" to change the readers' experience of the new book!

    We ask that you confirm that all procedures are in place and, in particular, that the following steps are implemented :

    * Insure the product is segregated from all other stock
    * Insure all security measures are in place in all stages of the process, and that access to the product and processing areas are appropriately restricted
    * Insure your entire staff is aware of the restrictions that are in place
    * Particularly over the weekend, insure appropriate staff, including security personnel, are on site
    * We recommend you implement, if you haven't already, the following in the secured staging areas and communicate this to your employees: no cell phones or recording devices and no lunch boxes or coolers, only clear bags
    * Please contact us prior to any communication with the media or other third parties, concerning your operations and security

    We greatly appreciate your cooperation and look forward to a successful launch of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on July 16th for all booksellers!

    Sincerely,
    Scholastic Sales Management

    --
    meh
  47. Idle Threats by Neoprofin · · Score: 3, Informative

    I'm too lazy to read 313 comments to see if it's been mentioned already, but to the best of my knowledge Scolastic is not allowed to discontinue future distribution through a store based on a break in the street date. I used to work at a Target store and we had street dated material every week. If we broke it they are allowed to fine us obscene amounts of money ($5000 per copy of Windows XP sold before release date etc etc) but it was explicitly stated in the corprate material concerning new releases that they are not granted right to deny us future releases either in timing or quantity.

  48. because, it's harry potter by bilbravo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    J.K. Rowling wants all of the people who read this book to read it at the same time. That's just her plan, and I think it's a good idea. All of the children who will be reading this book... well, it's fair to all of them to read it at the same time.

    --
    Starmen.net
  49. Re:Potter To The Sheeple by jratcliffe · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well, my my, aren't we superior. Thanks for making me aware of my sheeple status (and not one of the elite with "even a little common sense"). Had it not been for your insightful comment, I would have continued to be under the delusion that I had in fact read Tolkien, Lewis, Pullman, Dahl, and Pratchett, and still liked the Harry Potter books. I guess I should go out and buy some new books, since a lot of those that appear to be sitting on my shelves must be figments of my "pathetic" imagination.