Re: NY Times Ethicist Condones Ripping Off E-books

  Posted by: "Christopher R. Maden" crism-KB/[email protected] crismxml
    Date: Tue Apr 13, 2010 3:31 pm ((PDT))

>
> Control of copies is now *impossible*.
>
> A speed limit sign on the highway does not prevent cars from  
> traveling at more than the posted rate; it merely advises the driver  
> of possible penalties if caught.  Copyright does not prevent  
> copying; it provides penalties for copying, if caught.
>
> However, the cost and effort of creating unlimited copies have now  
> dropped so very low that both the penalties and the chance of  
> getting caught are also extremely low.
>

I contend that, if the zeitgeist comes to see copyright violation as  
wrong, most people won't do it.

The problem isn't ONLY that it's easy, but ALSO that it's acceptable.  
And it should not be.

We're in the middle of a very strange time. There were more than 1  
MILLION different titles issued new ISBNs in the US alone in 2009.

But, if you look closely at that tidal wave of titles, you find that  
most of them are really badly done. They're labors of love -- and  
ignorance. And it shows. Go see for yourselves. I have, and it's not  
pretty.

When we open the floodgates more fully, as we are inevitably doing,  
and simultaneously make it impossible to for most authors, editors and  
other publishing pros to earn a living, we will ensure that the drek  
is what overwhelms the marketplace. It's not that the professional  
authors don't love their work, it's that they have families to feed.

And every model I see proposed as the next big way to pay authors has  
a real big problem: when you try them in the real world, and they have  
been tried, they DON'T WORK. Or they don't work well enough, and for  
enough different types of books. Ad-supported novels? Nope -- those  
crashed and burned a while ago. Even magazines, newspapers and  
television can't make this model continue to work.

Pay to see an author read their how-to or self-help book? You can't  
get enough people in the rooms when they're free!

Premium editions? For cult-books, maybe. But not for most titles, and  
certainly not outside of limited genres and market segments.

Books as a calling card for other services? For some things. I intend  
to do that, more or less, with my ebook series, The Profitable  
Publisher, but still, it's a strategy with limits.

Patronage? That hasn't worked well since the Renaissance, and didn't  
do all that well then. The economics behind that is complicated, but  
it's still flawed. (Not to mention what it does to freedom of  
expression!)

I'm not sure what happens next, after the copyright fail, but I'm  
pretty sure it's not going to be anything like what most of the  
idealists out there want. After we all get sick of THAT, THEN we may  
come up with a societal consensus on how and when you should make and  
share those copies -- one that actually works for all involved.

And THEN we can get laws that will be obeyed to codify that consensus.

In other words, I'm thinking of a great quote about buckling up,  
because it's gonna be a bumpy ride. But interesting to watch.


Marion Gropen
Gropen Associates, Inc.
Consulting By-The-Question,  Tools & Classes for Publishers
www.GropenAssoc.com
Her blog: www.GropenAssoc.com/blog



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