Tackling the usage of DRM and textbooks

Tony McSherry looks at DRM and the electronic publishing of textbooks.

I’m currently completing a client project — a customised hosted Moodle Learning Management System (LMS) with around 50 e-learning modules we previously developed. The course is based on textbooks owned by the client, which were produced around 10 years ago and have no existing electronic format. The client wanted the textbooks to be available online and linked to e-learning, so the first part of the process was to convert them to an editable format, such as MS Word.This can be addressed by scanning the textbooks using OCR and then editing to correct format and layout problems. The next task was trying to decide how they could be made available for sale and distribution. As a content owner, the client was understandably concerned with illegal copying, distribution, or copyright infringement, as well as a desire to make the material available on multiple platforms and devices.Unfortunately, there appears to be no foolproof method of distributing the textbooks that prevents capture or copying of the material. All that can be done is to reduce the likelihood of this happening, and, in my client’s case, the specialised nature of the content will also lower the probability of illegal copying.Digital rights management (DRM) is an attempt to prevent copying, saving, and printing documents (as well as copy prevention for other media), but even a quick internet search shows the availability of commercial and open-source software aimed at removing different kinds of DRM.I’m also a user of DRM, as we currently sell our authoring system via a subscription. For our DRM, we developed a web-based licence server that will automatically convert a downloaded test version of the software to a full version locked to that computer, and allows developers to easily transfer the licence by simply running the software on another computer.This method is used for games and development tools, and it is comparatively secure as it relies on software on the user’s computer to interface with a licencing or content server. This approach is also employed by most vendors using DRM for books and documents. It’s important to realise that this type of DRM can be defeated. A quick look at any torrent tracker site will show all the latest published ebooks with their DRM removed.It would be preferable if there was only one kind of DRM for ebooks that functioned on every possible device, but unfortunately, there are different kinds of DRM used for ebook readers, tablets, laptops, and PCs, and it usually means you are locked in to a particular device and store. Adobe, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Apple all offer this approach and rely on you installing particular software to download and view the book or have it built in to particular e-readers.If we ignore DRM for the moment, there’s the decision as to the format of the published online textbooks.

  • HTML format is the easiest to link to from the existing e-learning, but it provides no inherent security, and it can be made accessible only to registered and enrolled users of the client’s LMS. It can also be read on any device with an internet browser.
  • Adobe PDF format can prevent easy text copying, and the files can be password locked, but the files can be cracked and you can’t really prevent saving the file. It also relies on having Adobe reader software installed on your reading device.
  • ePub is an open-source format that provides the most utility for the reader. Virtually all devices can read this format, with the notable exception of the Kindle, where ePub books need to be converted to .mobi format. However, there are a number of free converters available. The latest Kindle is also finally able to read PDF and HTML documents, but earlier Kindles won’t. ePub is a reflowable text format similar to a cut down HTML.

There are lots of other formats, but the three I’ve mentioned are the most common.Back to DRM: It’s important to remember that even physical books are susceptible to copying these days by exactly the same method that the current textbooks are being converted to electronic format. It’s really only a question of time and motivation, and the only redress is to scan the net for illegal copies (torrent tracker sites would be a good place to start) and try to enforce copyright. This has been attempted a number of times by most of the major players with only minor success, and is quite expensive and litigious.HTML cannot be encrypted, but you can restrict access to the textbooks to only enrolled users of the LMS. It’s possible to use some HTML tricks such as transparent GIFs to prevent easy copying and pasting and remove menus, but as the HTML text is downloaded to the browser, there are a number of methods to capture the material. However, there will be a clear audit trail of access to manual pages, so a user viewing the complete manual in one viewing could be regarded as suspicious. The other advantage of HTML is to be able to embed audio/video, animations, and simulations.Adobe offers a few solutions to try to prevent text copying and printing with password protection, which can all be bypassed using other PDF readers or by DRM-removal software. The Adobe content server is an expensive solution (approximately $6,500), relies on the user having the Adobe reader or software available, and only uses PDF and ePub format. It’s also arguable that it provides more effective copy protection.A number of publishers including Adobe use the ePub format, but all have their own DRM attached, so you may find ePub ebooks readable on one device, but not another.DRM is about trying to protect intellectual property, but by restricting access to particular devices, and sometimes to a limited number of them, or using online verification, it actually restricts the end user from easy use of the textbook.

Note: This article have been indexed to our site. We do not claim legitimacy, ownership or copyright of any of the content above. To see the article at original source Click Here

Related Posts
Why Meta and Twitter’s AI and ML layoffs matter | The AI Beat thumbnail

Why Meta and Twitter’s AI and ML layoffs matter | The AI Beat

November 14, 2022 6:24 AM Check out the on-demand sessions from the Low-Code/No-Code Summit to learn how to successfully innovate and achieve efficiency by upskilling and scaling citizen developers. Watch now. Ten days ago, as part of mass Twitter layoffs, the company’s entire ethical artificial intelligence (AI) team — which worked to make Twitter’s algorithms
Read More
LG Innotek is rumored to sign a 1 trillion won supply contract with Tesla thumbnail

LG Innotek is rumored to sign a 1 trillion won supply contract with Tesla

据etnews报道,LG Innotek 将向特斯拉提供价值超过1万亿韩元的摄像头,供货合同将在第一季度完成并开始量产。据了解,LG Innotek的摄像头将安装在特斯拉面向北美和欧洲市场Model Y和 Model 3,以及即将发布的电动卡车semi上。 该报道指出,特斯拉将于本月开始在美国得克萨斯州奥斯汀运营其在当地的第一家超级工厂。随着特斯拉第五个生产基地的运营,它正在寻求使电动汽车关键零部件的供应多样化,该公司在奥斯汀Gigafactory 投产前就已订购了大型零部件。此前特斯拉从中国和美国订购了摄像头,但受中美贸易战的影响,其对韩国企业表现出了极大的关注。去年,特斯拉与三星电机签订了4900亿韩元的摄像头模组供应合同。LG Innotek则在去年首次供货特斯拉,这意味着它通过了特斯拉的可靠性测试,不过去年的供给量仅为数百亿韩元,今年的合同一旦完成,交易规模将是去年的10倍,这将对公司的业绩大有裨益。另外,该报道指出,如果在第一季度内完成供货,LG Innotek将成为特斯拉的核心零部件供应商。考虑到特斯拉奥斯汀工厂的距离,预计生产将在LG Innotek墨西哥工厂进行。LG Innotek 的一位高管表示,“我们无法确认特斯拉摄像头的供应情况。”(校对/Sharon)
Read More
Xiaomi surprises us: update guarantee also for cheap smartphones? thumbnail

Xiaomi surprises us: update guarantee also for cheap smartphones?

Foto: N.Tho.Duc, Unsplash Xiaomi führte im September in Europa die 11T-Reihe ein und damit auch endlich eine Update-Garantie. Dabei gab es aber ein Problem, denn diese Garantie ist bislang nur für zwei Smartphones vorgesehen und noch nicht für andere neue Geräte. Zumindest war das der bisherige Stand der Dinge für den „globalen Markt“. Bessere und…
Read More
New Mazda CX-30 2022 เติมเทคโนโลยีใหม่สุด หรูหราคุ้มค่า ราคา เริ่มต้นไม่ถึงล้าน thumbnail

New Mazda CX-30 2022 เติมเทคโนโลยีใหม่สุด หรูหราคุ้มค่า ราคา เริ่มต้นไม่ถึงล้าน

มาสด้าเปิดตัว New Mazda CX-30 ใหม่ ปี 2022 พร้อมแนวคิด “LIFE’S ALWAYS ON” ครอสโอเวอร์เอสยูวีที่พร้อมเติมเต็มความหมายให้กับทุกด้านของชีวิตอย่างมีสไตล์ มอบความคุ้มค่าและลงตัวในการใช้งานในทุกมิติ ด้วยเทคโนโลยีความปลอดภัยและความสะดวกสบายที่ครบครันยิ่งขึ้นตั้งแต่รุ่นเริ่มต้น พร้อมความพรีเมี่ยมที่เหนือระดับ กับสีใหม่ล่าสุด บรอนซ์ แพลตทินั่ม ควอตซ์ Platinum Quartz มุ่งเจาะกลุ่มคนรุ่นใหม่ ที่เริ่มต้นชีวิตคู่ในสไตล์ใหม่ พร้อมเติมเต็มทุกประสบการณ์ในหลากหลายมิติของชีวิตคู่ได้อย่างลงตัว ด้วยทางเลือกทั้งหมด 3 รุ่นย่อย วาง ราคา จำหน่ายเท่าเดิมเริ่มต้นเพียง 989,000 บาท พร้อมข้อเสนอสุดคุ้มรับเปิดตัว กับดอกเบี้ย 1.99%และฟรีประกันภัยชั้นหนึ่ง Mazda Premium Insurance 1 ปีผู้ที่สนใจสามารถทดลองขับและจองซื้อได้แล้ววันนี้ที่โชว์รูมมาสด้าทั่วประเทศ พร้อมส่งมอบรถใหม่ได้ทันทีNew Mazda CX-30 2022 เพิ่มอุปกรณ์+ความปลอดภัยใหม่ หรูหราคุ้มค่า ราคาเพิ่ม สีภายนอกใหม่ บรอนซ์ แพลตทินั่ม ควอตซ์ หรูหรา สปอร์ตพรีเมี่ยม ทุกมุมมองเพิ่ม ไฟส่องสว่างสำหรับการขับขี่เวลากลางวันแบบ LED…
Read More
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy thumbnail

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy

W ubiegłym roku zadebiutowała gra Marvel's Avengers od Crystal Dynamics oraz Square Enix. Nie wszystkim tytuł przypadł do gustu, zwłaszcza że mieliśmy do czynienia z dość niedopracowaną grą-usługą. W ostatnich tygodniach o grze zrobiło się jednak głośniej, głównie dzięki darmowemu weekendowi a także rozbudowanym dodatkowym, oferowanym bez dodatkowych kosztów. Choć ostatecznie Avengersi nie okazali się…
Read More
Index Of News
Consider making some contribution to keep us going. We are donation based team who works to bring the best content to the readers. Every donation matters.
Donate Now

Subscription Form

Liking our Index Of News so far? Would you like to subscribe to receive news updates daily?

Total
0
Share