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Tag: lending

eBook Lending Restrictions Encourage Piracy

March 23, 2011 /

Yesterday Lendle, a Kindle eBook lending network service had its access to the Amazon API blocked. Lendle made use of the Amazon API to facilitate the lending of Kindle eBooks all in accord with the current restrictions. Kindle books may be loaned to another Kindle user for a period of 14 days. During that time, the owner of the book cannot read it until the end of the loan period. And any given book may only be loaned out one time and one time only. Barnes & Noble Nook eBooks suffer the same lending restrictions.

After changes to Lendle’s use of the API, Lendle’s access to Amazon has been restored. But the whole debacle casts light once again on the overly restrictive eBook lending rules. First, 14 days is too short. I’ve read plenty of books that with life’s little interruptions have taken me far longer than 14 days to read. I’m not a library, when I loan a book to a friend, I don’t stamp it with a due date and charge fines if it comes back late! Secondly, many of us have loaned a good book to family and friends more than one time only. It is not uncommon for an entire family to share and read a single copy of a book.

These restrictions, coupled with DRM, are intended to fight piracy. But by making it harder for the consumer to use the product in a way that seems natural and fair to them, they actually encourage the piracy they wish to limit. We’ve already seen this with software, music, and movies. People living in the same household don’t want to buy full priced copies of things they have already paid for once. If it is easier to obtain and use a pirated copy of a book than a legal one, then guess which one wins?

As eBook readers begin to fall below $100, more of them are finding their way into the hands of younger readers. Stripping eBooks of DRM is not all that difficult and a quick web search is likely to find pirate copies of anything even remotely popular. It would be better in the long run if lending restrictions are loosened up to resemble something closer to what book readers expect, than to raise up a new generation of casual eBook pirates.

Rather than continue unrealistic lending policies, eBook sellers and publishers should use the lending data to track reader preferences and trends in order to sell more books. The current policies actively discourage lending, opening it up should result in a larger, more significant data pool for analysis. Just as iTunes did for digital music, the eBook buying and lending experience should be as easy as tapping a touchscreen.

All In The Family for eBook Lending

February 9, 2011 /

If the publisher allows it, eBooks for the Nook or the Kindle can be loaned out to another person to read on their eReader for a limited time. We’re all familiar with lending and borrowing the books of friends and this is often the way we discover new authors. Reading, while in itself, a solitary activity, has always been an intensely social pursuit. How does this translate to the eBook experience?

Well so far, much gets lost in the translation. First, not all publishers allow lending of their eBooks. Second, the lending period is only 14 days. So if your buddy loans you an eBook edition of War and Peace, then you’ve just got yourself a new job for 2 weeks. Finally, you are only allowed to loan a book out exactly one time and one time only! I’d say this is a pretty lousy translation at this point.

I understand what the publishers are trying to do with these restrictions, but if they expect a family or group of students living together to buy a separate copy of a book for each person, then they are going to be disappointed. the absurdity of the restrictions will only increase the attractiveness of getting eBooks through less than legitimate channels.

Publishers would do well to adopt a model similar to the one iTunes uses. In iTunes a limited number of computers can be authorized to play music in the user’s library. This works reasonably well for the typical family with computers on a home network. Why not allow readers to authorize a limited number of eReaders to read the books they have bought? Eliminate the one time only lending limit and the 14 day loan period. I’d also get rid of the restriction that you cannot read a book you have currently loaned out. Why shouldn’t a family be able to read a book together simultaneously? This capability could even be a selling point for eBooks versus physical ones.

A good portion of computer software piracy is the casual sort where a family copies software onto multiple computers at home rather than buying a full priced copy for each machine. Major software publishers, such as Microsoft, Apple, and Symantec finally got a clue and began to offer multi-license family packs. For much less than the cost of individual licenses, the typical pack allows the user to legally install the software on up to 3 computers in their home.

As eBooks continue to rise in popularity, publishers would be wise to adopt more liberal restrictions before the grey, 100% discount, market becomes the preferred way for people to fill their eReaders.

BTW, you can get War and Peace for free at Project Gutenberg right here!

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