New eBook Standard Now Available For Mass Market Audience was the title from yesterdays WebWire press release on the ePub book catalogue at BooksOnBoard.com. With almost 200 eBooks in the ePub format this is the first real source for mass market books to be released in the new eBook standard.
It’s a little unclear if the ePub versions have DRM restrictions, but as the site states;
DRM Adobe ebooks can be read only on Adobe Reader 7, Adobe Acrobat 7, or Adobe Digital Editions […] We recommend Adobe Digital Editions for Adobe format eBooks, both pdf and ePub versions…
We must presume that they have DRM in place.
The market is still waiting for better ePub readers and until we get those it won’t matter how many ePub books they release. Let’s hope that the Sony Reader (PRS-505) receives its Digital Editions firmware update soon and that other dedicated readers, such as the Amazon Kindle and Cybook follow suit.
Yes, we still have a long way to go but it does look like we’re on the right track.
People who buy books, without compulsion, value the book and the authors contribution. Books are usually pirated when a reader feels they are unfairly required to possess it. They would have bought the books in-spite of the knowledge that books may be acquired through illegal means.
On the other hand, those who do pirate will have their own way of getting the book, and/or stripping the DRM, and thereby making DRM meaningless, regardless of the platform the use.
Hence they do not increase sales, except from the unsuspecting buyer who is unaware of lock-in and obsolescence.
DRM enables market capture by a few vendors on a few commercial platforms and software vendors, each enabling each other profits by means of a lock-in. When platforms obsolete they will encounter hidden costs while being forced to upgrade.
DRM prevents or inconveniences legit buyers of books who would have used open platforms and open source software.
Both of the above are negative consequences.