Re: eBook security

TB:

There really is no such thing as "content protection", especially with 
computers.  If content is displayed on a screen (camera click) or sent 
to a speaker (recorder), it can be copied.  This may upset the DRM 
(Digital Rights Management) crowd, but content itself is very hard to 
protect.  You can make it to where the file itself will only work on a 
given computer, but that, in reality, is as much protection as you can 
get.  (They build a better mousetrap, the hackers develop a better 
cheese to lure the mouse away...)

Be that as it may, after spending 2 years working with different 
methods, one of the best schemes I've seen is where the eBooks must be 
registered online.  Ebook Generator ( 
http://ebook.generatorsoftware.com/ ) gives you the option of disabling 
a registered work.  You can use this in cases where you know (and can 
prove) that a given customer is giving away your content.  You must be 
right when you use this option, as if you're wrong, the customer can sue 
you, and probably win.

All DRM actually accomplishes is it keeps the honest crooks honest.  
That's it.  It is limited to the hacker's ability to get around your 
passwords and programs.

As for protecting your copyright, that's a different thing entirely.  If 
you're in the United States, simply register your work with the 
Copyright Office ( http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html ).  This 
gives you legal advantages, such as the ability to sue people who copy 
your work.  The problem here is that there are six billion people on the 
planet, and only 300 million of them live in the States.  Unless you 
have a lot of money, international copyright infringement is too costly 
to pursue, and despite agreements with other countries, you may or may 
not win.

The "exclusive rights" of the copyright holder are guaranteed by the 
Constitution, but its effects are limited to how much money you're 
willing to part with to protect it.  In my experience, the lawyers are 
the only ones who really make any money off this deal, and it's a crappy 
deal, but that's what I see.  While it's illegal to circumvent any DRM 
encryption system in-place on anything copyrighted, you have to prove 
it.  The Digital Millenia Copyright Act, for the most part, only limits 
Americans, as most other countries do not recognize the United States 
Congress as an authority on their law.

Danny Stone
Publisher/Producer
Wallstone Entertainment

barlasst wrote:
>
> Hi there - my first post...
> I am trying to find the perfect eBook security...I have used .exe files
> with a password and payment through Paypal as a download from a website
> and also RegNow with Digital River but find the latter take a large
> cut. I am about to publish a largish book with lots of unseen pics.
> Advice please on preventing anyone from copying my material (is it
> really just disable right click?. If a techy wants to try and get it
> for free then good luck to them but it is my copyright I am really
> worried about,
> Thanks TB
>


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