The problem of book scanning and illegal distribution has been stated and debated by thousands of people, but so far nobody's come up with any _workable_ solutions.
That's because there aren't any workable solutions other than the same one that applies to just about anything else; make piracy more effort than it's worth.
NOT 'trouble'.
'Effort', as in 'Work'.
Who's going to scan 870 pages if you can buy a professionally produced ebook version for $10 or less?
Only some pathetic geek without a discernable life or income.
Who's going to actively search for pirated copies of such an ebook? The same kinds of people who'd scan 870 pages instead of spending ten bucks.
People to whom ten bucks is worth more than a few hours of their lives.
The results of busting pirates and taking them to court won't cover the costs of tracking them down, and you'll never get 'em all that way.
BUT... the point is moot, because a reasonably-priced solution can't happen for such things as first-run movies, new music, and Harry Potter books.
Current high-end publishing and marketing industries aren't designed for flexibility or innovation; they're designed to milk the public for maximum-possible bucks for a product and to control all possible methods of acquiring a product.
They won't die off; they'll just adapt into other industries.
It's unlikely that the net will disappear, so publishing and distribution methods (and policies) WILL have to change.
We should be discussing how to make those changes happen as quickly and painlessly as possible WITHOUT altogether removing the incentives for publishing.
No profit = No New Stuff.
The HP and other books, music, and movies now being pirated were first _published_ by some company.
That leads us back to "more effort than it's worth", because when publishing no longer turns a profit, publishers will seek other - uncopyable - products.
Ed Howdershelt - Abintra Press
Science Fiction and Semi-Fiction
http://abintrapress.tripod.com
Slashdot Mirror
The problem of book scanning and illegal distribution has been stated and debated by thousands of people, but so far nobody's come up with any _workable_ solutions. That's because there aren't any workable solutions other than the same one that applies to just about anything else; make piracy more effort than it's worth. NOT 'trouble'. 'Effort', as in 'Work'. Who's going to scan 870 pages if you can buy a professionally produced ebook version for $10 or less? Only some pathetic geek without a discernable life or income. Who's going to actively search for pirated copies of such an ebook? The same kinds of people who'd scan 870 pages instead of spending ten bucks. People to whom ten bucks is worth more than a few hours of their lives. The results of busting pirates and taking them to court won't cover the costs of tracking them down, and you'll never get 'em all that way. BUT... the point is moot, because a reasonably-priced solution can't happen for such things as first-run movies, new music, and Harry Potter books. Current high-end publishing and marketing industries aren't designed for flexibility or innovation; they're designed to milk the public for maximum-possible bucks for a product and to control all possible methods of acquiring a product. They won't die off; they'll just adapt into other industries. It's unlikely that the net will disappear, so publishing and distribution methods (and policies) WILL have to change. We should be discussing how to make those changes happen as quickly and painlessly as possible WITHOUT altogether removing the incentives for publishing. No profit = No New Stuff. The HP and other books, music, and movies now being pirated were first _published_ by some company. That leads us back to "more effort than it's worth", because when publishing no longer turns a profit, publishers will seek other - uncopyable - products. Ed Howdershelt - Abintra Press Science Fiction and Semi-Fiction http://abintrapress.tripod.com