Transcript The rise of the e-book: issues for publishers and the

The rise of the e-book: issues for
publishers and the impact on
translation rights
Lynette Owen, Copyright and Rights
Consultant
Moscow, September 6th 2013
Electronic publishing: the last 20
years
• In the Anglophone countries, academic and
professional publishers moved to publishing
electronically in the early 1990s, first on CD-Rom
and then online
• Legal and scientific publishers took the lead;
subscribers were legal firms and universities
• Users needed to search large databases of content,
and accessed via desktop or laptop computers
Electronic publishing: the last 10
years
• Mass market publishers have come to
electronic publishing far more recently and
have been more influenced by the second
generation of dedicated e-readers (e.g.
Amazon’s Kindle, Kobo, Barnes & Noble’s
NOOK) and by tablet devices and smart
phones. Users tend to want to read a
complete work rather then search a
database; portability is the main advantage
What have been the challenges
for publishers? (1)
• The need to acquire clear contractual permission
from authors to publish in any digital format, in
whole or in part, and to be able to license to third
parties; authors’ agents have been resistant
• Authors and agents expect higher royalty rates on
electronic versions than on print, arguing that
publishers have lower costs
• Also need to acquire permission for electronic use
of any third party copyright material e.g. quoted
text, photos, illustrations
What have been the challenges
for publishers? (2)
• The need to reach satisfactory financial
arrangements with e-book retailers (e.g.
Amazon, Apple, Kobo, Sony, Google) and
with e-book library aggregators (e.g.
Proquest, Credo. MyiLibrary, Books 24x7)
Other issues (1): e-book pricing
• Publishers supplying e-books direct to customers
from their own websites have varied policies:
some price the e-book at the same price as their
own edition or (if they publish in hardback and
paperback) at the price of their paperback edition;
others price e-books at less than the print edition
• There are issues with VAT – e.g. in the UK, VAT
on print books is 0% but VAT on e-books is
currently 20%; publishers are lobbying for 0%
Other issues (2): financial
arrangements with retailers
• Publishers initially allowed e-book retailers to set
e-book prices, but low e-book prices impacted on
publishers’ own print sales
• Major trade publishers moved to the “agency
model” with publishers setting e-book prices and
e-book retailer retaining 30% share
• US and EU authorities contested the model,
claiming that e-books would be more expensive;
in April 2012 US Department of Justice instituted
anti-trust suit against Apple and 5 major trade
publishers; publishers have settled.
Other issues (3); financial
arrangements with retailers
• In July 2013 Apple were convicted of
conspiring to fix e-book prices. The US
Department of Justice has required them to
terminate any price-fixing agreements with
the five publishers, and also to provide links
to the sites of competing e-book retailers so
consumers can compare prices
Other issues (4): should e-books
be DRM-protected?
• Most Anglophone publishers continue to
use Adobe DRM protection; however, some
are experimenting with “social DRM” –
watermarking the files so that the source of
any unauthorised copies can be identified
• NB the music industry has tended to
abandon DRM on the grounds that it
encourages rather than deters piracy
Other issues (5): piracy
• Like the music and film industries, publishers
have been affected by illegal file sharing and
torrent sites
• To date, most unauthorised copies originate from
scanned print copies rather than pirated e-book
files
• In 2009, the UK Publishers Association
established its Copyright Infringement Portal,
which enables members to issue notice and
takedown to offending sites; they expect about one
million notices to be issued this year
Other issues (6): piracy (cont.)
• The site has been very successful in
deterring amateur infringers (e.g. students
posting copies of textbooks). Commercial
infringers may re-emerge on other sites
The impact of e-books on
translation rights (1)
• An increasing number of publishers who already
have print translation licences are seeking to add
e-book rights to their licence
• Many markets are not as well developed as the
Anglophone market
• In some markets e-books are priced far lower then
the print edition and intermediate retailers take a
large percentage of the e-book price
• There are many different financial models: direct
sales to customers, sales via e-book retailers, via
aggregators on subscription basis, rental models
The impact of e-books on
translation rights (2)
• Rightsholders may be reluctant to grant e-book
rights in new markets where financial models are
unclear
• Different supply models mean there cannot be a
single standard contract
• In many markets, low e-book prices mean that
rightsholders will expect a much higher royalty on
the e-book than on the print edition (e.g. 25% of
net receipts rather than 10%)
• Western publishers have particular concerns about
piracy; many torrent sites are located in Russia
The impact of e-books on
translation rights (3)
• If the print licensee is reliable, it is better to give
them e-book rights even if revenue is modest; as
investors in the translated edition, they should be
motivated to take action against piracy
• With e-book sales unpredictable, there will always
be concern over whether e-book sales will
cannibalise print sales
• Rightsholders are unlikely to agree to grant
translation rights in e-book form only; authors will
want a print edition as well
Questions for potential licensees
• What is their e-book pricing policy and
supply model? What share will e-book
retailer take?
• Will e-books be DRM protected?
• What can the end user do: download?
Store? Bookmark? Annotate? Use on more
than one device? Lend? Print out material
(and if so how much?)
Questions?
• [email protected]