Ebook fears may prompt publishers to repeat the draconian copyright crackdown of the 1990s
Amazon boss Jeff Bezos unveiling the Kindle DX. Technology companies such as Amazon and Apple have led the way in ebook publishing. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images
You know it's a slow news day when the front page of a newspaper is a regurgitated press release from the Publishers Association. That must have been the case last week when the Metro brought us alarming news that ebook piracy "is a colossal threat". Apparently shocked by the number of pirated ebooks available, the publishers' trade body has decided to create a "copyright infringement portal" where publishers can report any infringing works they find so take-down notices can be issued. I suppose, on the face of it, there's not much explicitly foolish about this – though the use of the word "portal" seems like an exercise in 90s nostalgia chic – but those who remember Napster and the beginnings of digital music piracy may get an awful sinking feeling.
The book business likes to invoke those days too and repeatedly assures us it is not going to make the mistakes the music industry made. Unfortunately, the conclusions it seems to have drawn are that the recorded music business wasn't draconian and heavy-handed enough, that it didn't issue enough take-down notices and didn't sue enough children and sweet old ladies. They seem not to have realised that the only way to compete with pirates is to offer a better product and better service; a better combination of price, convenience and availability.
Or if they have realised it they're being awfully slow in doing anything about it. Ebook piracy has been a realistic prospect for decades but publishing hasn't come up with any convincing alternative. Pricing is confused, the products are badly made, the marketing is non-existent or horrible.
It's taken two technology businesses – Apple and Amazon – to really spur them into action. I hope they get this soon. Otherwise, we face the prospect of every ebook starting with a two-minute, unskippable video of a noted author persuading us that book piracy is the moral equivalent of murder. That was Hollywood's ingenious solution to the same problem. I wonder how that's working out.
The book business likes to invoke those days too and repeatedly assures us it is not going to make the mistakes the music industry made. Unfortunately, the conclusions it seems to have drawn are that the recorded music business wasn't draconian and heavy-handed enough, that it didn't issue enough take-down notices and didn't sue enough children and sweet old ladies. They seem not to have realised that the only way to compete with pirates is to offer a better product and better service; a better combination of price, convenience and availability.
Or if they have realised it they're being awfully slow in doing anything about it. Ebook piracy has been a realistic prospect for decades but publishing hasn't come up with any convincing alternative. Pricing is confused, the products are badly made, the marketing is non-existent or horrible.
It's taken two technology businesses – Apple and Amazon – to really spur them into action. I hope they get this soon. Otherwise, we face the prospect of every ebook starting with a two-minute, unskippable video of a noted author persuading us that book piracy is the moral equivalent of murder. That was Hollywood's ingenious solution to the same problem. I wonder how that's working out.
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