Packaged Digital Rights Messaging

“Let’s talk about the elephant in the room…” is how Matteo Berlucci, President of Anobii, opened his address to publishers at Digital Book World this past January in New York. He was talking about Digital Rights Management, (DRM).

Mr. Berlucci's presentation was compelling as he urged publishers to drop strict DRM and embrace a social DRM or watermarking style of rights management. This announcement, coming from the president of a book company owned by three of the world’s largest book publishers, certainly caused a stir.

It generated a lot of discussion as well; not too dissimilar to the conversations I was having with publishers since introducing the concept of the retail ebook card system we are poised to launch soon.

To market to a mass customer base as we will be doing, our system needed to distribute ebooks for use across all platforms, and this included a platform-neutral watermarking solution. So, this is what we've been developing for the past 18 months - a method to protect content while distributing to all platforms, we began with social DRM and watermarking.

Publishers that drop strict DRM typically do so in favour of social DRM or watermarking, which promises to open up the ebook business to more consumers, allowing publishers to sell ebooks across all ebook reader platforms. 

The State of the Industry

Currently, social DRM works by inserting a consumer’s information into the epub or mobi file, usually without the user’s knowledge.

In the case of watermarking, when a consumer’s information is inserted into an ebook, it is visible to the reader. 

The premise is that the consumer will not share or copy the ebook because their information is embedded into the file they purchased, it is supposed to act as a deterrent. It also makes it possible for publishers to trace and catch people who distribute the ebook unlawfully.

I believe that this is only part of the solution.

The current use of social DRM and watermarking makes huge assumptions. It assumes that because the consumer’s information is in the file, visible or not, that the consumer knows that copying and sharing the file is copyright prohibited. It also assumes that the consumer has actually read the mandatory “terms and conditions” prior to entering into a clickwrap agreement with the seller.

Realistically, most people do not read the “terms and conditions” and simply scroll to the bottom to hit “agree” in order to access their purchased content. That's fine, it's still a binding contract though. And, binding or not, sellers haven't effectively communicated the rights messaging to the reader. 

In an effort to better the current model, the team at Enthrill has come up with a rather simple option that makes social DRM and watermarking more effective by ‘packaging’ Digital Rights Messaging in a visible manner that is comprehensive to readers while offering publishers with a level of security.

We felt that treating readers with respect by offering clear communication about the terms in which they are bound to was imperative to this option being effective. Understanding their responsibility in the stewardship of the book file they have purchased overcomes this huge assumption that previous versions of watermarking make.

So, now it's time to talk about the elephant in the book...

Tomorrow, we will announce the PACKAged Digital Rights Messaging solution or PackaDRM™ as another one of Enthrill's groundbreaking advances in digital publishing.

PackaDRM™ combines social DRM and watermarking to insert information that identifies the consumer visibly and invisibly into the file they have purchased. This is done for two reasons, neither of which are obtrusive to the consumer experience.

First, the seldom-read “terms and conditions” are reiterated at the front and back of the ebook to remind the consumer that they have purchased the ebook solely for their own use. Second, this method can track errant copies of ebooks back to malicious users and provide the basis for prosecution.

Using PackaDRM™ will help to ensure that readers never forget their obligation to preserve content ownership... we are promoting responsible stewardship and believe that type of communication is integral.

I am excited about this advance and I believe this is the best approach for a platform-neutral marketplace. It's not going to change any one's mind on DRM but for those publishers that choose social DRM or watermarking, PackaDRM™ is the best way to do it.

app vs. epub

Since this keeps coming up in discussions and in questions with people, I thought I just post a few quick thoughts on apps vs. epub as formats to produce your book.

Both formats are solid and can do a lot of the same things, it really comes down to what you want to do with it and how you want to market it. 'It' meaning, your book. Marketing an ePub is different than marketing an app - I may go into greater depth on this in another posting, this one will be short and sweet.

Typically, apps cost more to produce... or at least have in the past. With ePub3 and all that html5 has to offer, you can do some damage to any sized budget with either format!

Approach your decision like this: If your audience would consider your project a 'book' more than an app, it may be best to build it in ePub so that it resides on the users bookshelf. Storing books together makes sense and is easier for the user to find your content.

You may also want to ask yourself, is it a consumable or a legacy product. So, will people read it once and forget about it or will they want to come back to it time and time again. If the latter is the case then an app may be better for you as you can update the app over time, whereas epubs, once delivered, are pretty much done.

Apps allow for in-game purchasing, which is something that isn't quite there with ePubs, or at least not in conjunction with all devices that ePubs run on.

You may also want to consider your audience. Producing an app for Mac OS only sells to that group, you will need to build another app to go after the 'others' in that space. An ePub is good for nearly every reading device, including desktops, laptops and smart phones. So, it's a bit more versatile.

Some non-fiction titles are beautiful apps - check out Elements - it is a work of art, but I would consider to be a coffee table book if it were printed.... maybe that's the type of titles that should go app - coffee table books?

My personal opinion is one that favours curation... I like to put my books on the shelf and see their covers... or someday when I have enough, ...spines. The universal use of ePub files is also attractive, meaning I only have to build it once.

I know it's short, but it's not really that difficult. It really comes down to what you want to do with it.