The main issue this day in age for all types of media is piracy. The music industry is the hardest hit by piracy but the publishing industry is also suffering. As music and ebook files are small, they are more easily downloaded (Practical Law, 2010). The main topics of conversation around this issue are whether or not it is wrong to download an ebook for free. Obviously according to the law it’s illegal to distribute files but morally the public tend to have varying views.
Some people think that they are justified in downloading for free ebooks that they already have the print version of. Their argument is that as they have already bought the book, they shouldn’t have to pay for it again in another format. This is similar to what we do with CDs that we buy; we copy the songs onto our computer and phones (Nelson, 2012).
Other reasons people use to justify illegally downloading an ebook are the same for any other type of media. They think they’re only hurting big businesses; authors don’t need any more money; they can’t access it any other way; authors should be content that people want their work (Hart, 2012). All these reasons are what genuinely go through people’s heads when they are distributing or downloading an illegal file for free.
Publishers have discovered a way to combat piracy of their online products. An invisible, traceable watermark is placed on every ebook sold. HarperCollins has already signed up to this new technology (Dixit, 2014). What this means is that if the ebook is inappropriately used, it is possible to trace who purchased the product. While this is beneficial to the publishers, it could have repercussions for the consumer. If products are stolen from a consumer without their knowledge, which is possible by hacking into an account and copying the files, then the buyer of said product would be the one to face the charges (Van Camp, 2013).
Another way to protect an ebook against illegal sharing is the Virtual Vault. This is a security program that makes it impossible to use an ebook without first purchasing it. It is aimed mainly at self-publishers (Ebook-Security.com, 2014).
In my opinion, distributing content is wrong but it’s the people who download the content that are even more in the wrong. Illegal content wouldn’t be online if people didn’t download it. As long as there is a demand for free content, there will always be someone out there willing to offer what the consumer wants. Piracy will never have a solution, even with all the new technologies being created; people will always find a way around it.
References:
Practical Law, 2010. Piracy and illegal file-sharing: UK and US legal and commercial responses. [online] Available at: http://uk.practicallaw.com/1-502-7956# [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Nelson, A., 2012. Is Pirating Books Ever OK? [online] Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amanda-nelson/is-pirating-books-ever-ok_b_1875426.html [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Hart, R., 2012. Top 10 Reasons People Use To Justify Pirating Digital Content (And Why They’re Wrong). [online] Available at: http://litreactor.com/columns/top-10-reasons-people-use-to-justify-pirating-digital-content-and-why-theyre-wrong [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Dixit, P., 2014. HarperCollins Is Now Using Digital Watermarks To Stop Ebook Piracy. [online] Available at: http://gizmodo.com/harpercollins-is-now-using-digital-watermarks-to-stop-e-1635220938 [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Van Camp, J., 2013. IT’S NOW SAFER TO PIRATE BOOKS THAN PURCHASE THEM YOURSELF. [online] Available at: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/ebook-piracy-safer-than-purchase/ [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Ebook-Security.com, 2014. An Affordable Ebook Security Solution. [online] Available at: http://www.ebook-security.com/ [Accessed 26 November 2014]
Some people think that they are justified in downloading for free ebooks that they already have the print version of. Their argument is that as they have already bought the book, they shouldn’t have to pay for it again in another format. This is similar to what we do with CDs that we buy; we copy the songs onto our computer and phones (Nelson, 2012).
Other reasons people use to justify illegally downloading an ebook are the same for any other type of media. They think they’re only hurting big businesses; authors don’t need any more money; they can’t access it any other way; authors should be content that people want their work (Hart, 2012). All these reasons are what genuinely go through people’s heads when they are distributing or downloading an illegal file for free.
Publishers have discovered a way to combat piracy of their online products. An invisible, traceable watermark is placed on every ebook sold. HarperCollins has already signed up to this new technology (Dixit, 2014). What this means is that if the ebook is inappropriately used, it is possible to trace who purchased the product. While this is beneficial to the publishers, it could have repercussions for the consumer. If products are stolen from a consumer without their knowledge, which is possible by hacking into an account and copying the files, then the buyer of said product would be the one to face the charges (Van Camp, 2013).
Another way to protect an ebook against illegal sharing is the Virtual Vault. This is a security program that makes it impossible to use an ebook without first purchasing it. It is aimed mainly at self-publishers (Ebook-Security.com, 2014).
In my opinion, distributing content is wrong but it’s the people who download the content that are even more in the wrong. Illegal content wouldn’t be online if people didn’t download it. As long as there is a demand for free content, there will always be someone out there willing to offer what the consumer wants. Piracy will never have a solution, even with all the new technologies being created; people will always find a way around it.
References:
Practical Law, 2010. Piracy and illegal file-sharing: UK and US legal and commercial responses. [online] Available at: http://uk.practicallaw.com/1-502-7956# [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Nelson, A., 2012. Is Pirating Books Ever OK? [online] Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amanda-nelson/is-pirating-books-ever-ok_b_1875426.html [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Hart, R., 2012. Top 10 Reasons People Use To Justify Pirating Digital Content (And Why They’re Wrong). [online] Available at: http://litreactor.com/columns/top-10-reasons-people-use-to-justify-pirating-digital-content-and-why-theyre-wrong [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Dixit, P., 2014. HarperCollins Is Now Using Digital Watermarks To Stop Ebook Piracy. [online] Available at: http://gizmodo.com/harpercollins-is-now-using-digital-watermarks-to-stop-e-1635220938 [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Van Camp, J., 2013. IT’S NOW SAFER TO PIRATE BOOKS THAN PURCHASE THEM YOURSELF. [online] Available at: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/ebook-piracy-safer-than-purchase/ [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Ebook-Security.com, 2014. An Affordable Ebook Security Solution. [online] Available at: http://www.ebook-security.com/ [Accessed 26 November 2014]