Others on this forum have spoken about the importance of ownership. I agree. The publishing community is only going to learn a hard lesson if it perpetuate a model where there is no real ownership (therefore no real value) in the products that they sell.
But why re-invent the wheel. Haven't we already seen this movie played out already in the world of software?
You can take some degree of ownership when you purchase a piece of software by registering (on line) and getting some sort of key. You can transfer ownership by uninstalling the software and transferring it to someone else (along with the key). There is no question that software piracy still exists but I have to assume that the issue would be even larger if people had no sense of ownership.
If I paid $30 for a piece of software (that I feel that I own) and a friend wants a copy... my attitude is... 1) you can get a copy from the same vendor where I got mine, or 2) I am not using it any more... how about if I sell it to you for $10. If I didn't feel that I really own it... my attitude would definitely change to... sure... here is a copy... do whatever you have to make it work (there is no skin off of my nose... because I didn't "really own" anything... did I?).
eBooks seem to be an even more obvious candidate. I read it... I liked it... I want to share the experience... so... here is the files and the key-code... tell me what you think (or maybe I sell it to you.). And you can give it back to me under this arrangement.
But that would mean that eBook sellers would have to put a little effort into the selling process. Right now they are just stamping out identical DRM copies (zero effort at no real zero cost per incremental unit). But for an ownership basis to work they would have to do the same thing that software vendors do... key each copy and maintain activation/deactivation records (and provide service for lost key-codes). It is not magic... it is being done every day by software vendors.
I am assuming that we will get to an ownership model in the long haul (primarily driven by consumer back-lash)... which means that the first eTailer who introduces this type of program will get to set the standard. Who knows... maybe this time it won't be Amazon who leads the way.
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Others on this forum have spoken about the importance of ownership. I agree. The publishing community is only going to learn a hard lesson if it perpetuate a model where there is no real ownership (therefore no real value) in the products that they sell. But why re-invent the wheel. Haven't we already seen this movie played out already in the world of software? You can take some degree of ownership when you purchase a piece of software by registering (on line) and getting some sort of key. You can transfer ownership by uninstalling the software and transferring it to someone else (along with the key). There is no question that software piracy still exists but I have to assume that the issue would be even larger if people had no sense of ownership. If I paid $30 for a piece of software (that I feel that I own) and a friend wants a copy ... my attitude is ... 1) you can get a copy from the same vendor where I got mine, or 2) I am not using it any more ... how about if I sell it to you for $10. If I didn't feel that I really own it ... my attitude would definitely change to ... sure ... here is a copy ... do whatever you have to make it work (there is no skin off of my nose ... because I didn't "really own" anything ... did I?).
eBooks seem to be an even more obvious candidate. I read it ... I liked it ... I want to share the experience ... so ... here is the files and the key-code ... tell me what you think (or maybe I sell it to you.). And you can give it back to me under this arrangement.
But that would mean that eBook sellers would have to put a little effort into the selling process. Right now they are just stamping out identical DRM copies (zero effort at no real zero cost per incremental unit). But for an ownership basis to work they would have to do the same thing that software vendors do ... key each copy and maintain activation/deactivation records (and provide service for lost key-codes). It is not magic ... it is being done every day by software vendors.
I am assuming that we will get to an ownership model in the long haul (primarily driven by consumer back-lash) ... which means that the first eTailer who introduces this type of program will get to set the standard. Who knows ... maybe this time it won't be Amazon who leads the way.