As the e-book market continues to grow publishers face several issues that arrives with digital technology. Digitised content has made it easier than ever to duplicate another’s work and illegally distribute it worldwide without distribution rights (Hall, 2013). As a result, publishers face the issues of upholding copyright legislation as many readers resort to pirating content instead of purchasing it. To prevent users from exploiting the content in an illegal manner, methods such as the Digital Rights Management and Digital Economy Act has been introduced (ibid).
However, digitised content can be manipulated and changed in many ways (Hall, 2013), thus making it possible for individuals to open the barriers put in place by publisher to prevent infringement from occurring. DRM can be an effective way for publishers to control the use of their author’s content, however, in some cases publishers have lost sales due to legitimate users being affected by DRM barriers (Younger, 2012).
There are different methods that publishers use to try and prevent infringement, but it is quite clear that these methods are not working. In 2014 the piracy-protection company Muso had removed 580,000 illegal files, yet, US publishers still suffers from a loss of $80 million to $100 million annually due to piracy (Andersen, C. Cited in Springen, 2014).
It is evident that piracy is still prospering, the younger generation is surrounded by technology and downloading content illegally has become a normality. Which leads me to think: are they even aware that content created by someone else is bound with copyright laws?
Another issue worth mentioning is that it is the publishers responsibility to maintain authors’ reputation, by ensuring that their content is being protected by copyright (Hall, 2013). However, authors have found their books pirated even before their publication date; Jackson Pearce’s YA novel Fanthomless was available to download before its publication date (Springen, 2014), and unfortunately, I doubt that she is the only author that has had the misfortune of having a book released before its release date. Thus, is more important than ever that pirated platforms become more visible so that publishers can take immediate action to prevent early pirated releases.
Hall (2013) notes that the consumers relationship to their content is changing, and they are more price sensitive. They resort to piracy due to the expensive costs of the content, thus is easier to access illegally (ibid). Personally, when I pay a higher price for a book, I would expect a more beautifully bound book in hardback. It seems only fair that digitised content should be reasonably cheaper as publishers aren’t required to pay printing costs. If the book turns out to be amazing, I would purchase the printed version as well. However, the younger generations seem to be under the influence that this content should be available for free (Springen, 2014) and will therefore resort to any means necessary to access the content for a lower price.
Piracy is not a new issue, other industries, such as music and film have been affected by it. However, with the help of the subscription business model, they have managed to fight against piracy. It hasn’t stopped individuals from pirating; it does however, offer users a more ethical way to access unlimited content for a reasonable price (Strauss, 2013).
Word Count: 546
Bibliography:
Dredge, G., (2014). Google says latest search changes will ‘visibly affect’ piracy site rankings, The Guardian, [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/20/google-search-changes-piracy-rankings [Accessed: 28 October 2014]
Garber, JR 1996, 'Piracy', Forbes, 157, 8, p. 214, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 October 2014.
Hall, F. (2013). The Business of Digital Publishing. New York: Routledge
Jones, P., (2011). Piracy adding to publishers’ digital costs, The Bookseller, [online]. Available at: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/piracy-adding-publishers-digital-costs [Accessed: 26 October 2014]
McRae, T., (2013). The BPI’s internet piracy crackdown targets the wrong people, The Guardian, [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/09/bpi-internet-piracy-crackdown-targets-wrong-people-illegal-downloads [Accessed: 28 October 2014]
Menand, L., (2014). Crooner In Rights Spat – Are copyright laws too strict? New Yorker, [online] Available at: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/20/crooner-rights-spat [Accessed: 19 Novemer 2014]
Springen, K., (2014). What YA Publishers and Authors Can Do to Fight E-Book Piracy, Publishers Weekly, [online]. Available at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/63357-the-piracy-problem.html [Accessed: 27 October 2014]
Strauss, K., (2013). TV and Film Piracy: Threatening an Industry? Forbes, [online]. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/03/06/tv-and-film-piracy-threatening-an-industry/ [Accessed: 26 October 2014]
Younger, R., (2012). DRM, Pricing and How We Can Help Piracy End Itself, The Bookseller, [online] Available at: http://publishingperspectives.com/2012/07/drm-pricing-and-how-we-can-help-piracy-end-itself/ [Accessed: 26 October 2014]
However, digitised content can be manipulated and changed in many ways (Hall, 2013), thus making it possible for individuals to open the barriers put in place by publisher to prevent infringement from occurring. DRM can be an effective way for publishers to control the use of their author’s content, however, in some cases publishers have lost sales due to legitimate users being affected by DRM barriers (Younger, 2012).
There are different methods that publishers use to try and prevent infringement, but it is quite clear that these methods are not working. In 2014 the piracy-protection company Muso had removed 580,000 illegal files, yet, US publishers still suffers from a loss of $80 million to $100 million annually due to piracy (Andersen, C. Cited in Springen, 2014).
It is evident that piracy is still prospering, the younger generation is surrounded by technology and downloading content illegally has become a normality. Which leads me to think: are they even aware that content created by someone else is bound with copyright laws?
Another issue worth mentioning is that it is the publishers responsibility to maintain authors’ reputation, by ensuring that their content is being protected by copyright (Hall, 2013). However, authors have found their books pirated even before their publication date; Jackson Pearce’s YA novel Fanthomless was available to download before its publication date (Springen, 2014), and unfortunately, I doubt that she is the only author that has had the misfortune of having a book released before its release date. Thus, is more important than ever that pirated platforms become more visible so that publishers can take immediate action to prevent early pirated releases.
Hall (2013) notes that the consumers relationship to their content is changing, and they are more price sensitive. They resort to piracy due to the expensive costs of the content, thus is easier to access illegally (ibid). Personally, when I pay a higher price for a book, I would expect a more beautifully bound book in hardback. It seems only fair that digitised content should be reasonably cheaper as publishers aren’t required to pay printing costs. If the book turns out to be amazing, I would purchase the printed version as well. However, the younger generations seem to be under the influence that this content should be available for free (Springen, 2014) and will therefore resort to any means necessary to access the content for a lower price.
Piracy is not a new issue, other industries, such as music and film have been affected by it. However, with the help of the subscription business model, they have managed to fight against piracy. It hasn’t stopped individuals from pirating; it does however, offer users a more ethical way to access unlimited content for a reasonable price (Strauss, 2013).
Word Count: 546
Bibliography:
Dredge, G., (2014). Google says latest search changes will ‘visibly affect’ piracy site rankings, The Guardian, [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/20/google-search-changes-piracy-rankings [Accessed: 28 October 2014]
Garber, JR 1996, 'Piracy', Forbes, 157, 8, p. 214, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 October 2014.
Hall, F. (2013). The Business of Digital Publishing. New York: Routledge
Jones, P., (2011). Piracy adding to publishers’ digital costs, The Bookseller, [online]. Available at: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/piracy-adding-publishers-digital-costs [Accessed: 26 October 2014]
McRae, T., (2013). The BPI’s internet piracy crackdown targets the wrong people, The Guardian, [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/09/bpi-internet-piracy-crackdown-targets-wrong-people-illegal-downloads [Accessed: 28 October 2014]
Menand, L., (2014). Crooner In Rights Spat – Are copyright laws too strict? New Yorker, [online] Available at: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/20/crooner-rights-spat [Accessed: 19 Novemer 2014]
Springen, K., (2014). What YA Publishers and Authors Can Do to Fight E-Book Piracy, Publishers Weekly, [online]. Available at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/63357-the-piracy-problem.html [Accessed: 27 October 2014]
Strauss, K., (2013). TV and Film Piracy: Threatening an Industry? Forbes, [online]. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/03/06/tv-and-film-piracy-threatening-an-industry/ [Accessed: 26 October 2014]
Younger, R., (2012). DRM, Pricing and How We Can Help Piracy End Itself, The Bookseller, [online] Available at: http://publishingperspectives.com/2012/07/drm-pricing-and-how-we-can-help-piracy-end-itself/ [Accessed: 26 October 2014]