Planet eBook Talks To RightsMarket

September 18, 2001

Planet eBook speaks to RightsMarket about eBooks and DRM and previews what it will be demonstrating and the upcoming Planet eBook & DRM Arena at Seybold San Francisco 2001.

What are you going to be exhibiting in the Seybold San Francisco 2001 DRM and E-Books Showcase, and who should go and see you?

RightsMarket will be exhibiting our digital publishing product, RightsPublish, offering a turnkey solution for ePublishing and content management targeted to Publishers, Associations and Content owners. Utilizing its core digital rights management and rights enforcement technology, RightsPublish enables content owners to securely distribute electronic material in a simple and cost-effective manner. Specifically for Seybold San Francisco 2001, we will be showcasing the digital publishing solution fully integrated with Print On Demand (POD). Integrated POD offers numerous benefits including:

  • The ability to distribute both paper and electronic copies through the same store front individually or in combined packages
  • Combines the benefits of paper (highlighting, note taking etc.) with the benefits of electronic copy (search capability, copy and paste)
  • Ideal solution for mixed usage audiences (when customers request both traditional paper copies and others request electronic copies)
  • Customers gain the ability to access electonic copy immediately and get the paper copy later
  • Eliminates "stale inventory" challenges when dealing with dynamic or volatile content
  • Eliminates the "out of inventory" problem
  • Ideal solution for mixed language audiences where there is demand for non-English text
  • Eliminates inventory storage problems
  • Positions content owner for distribution of multi-media content
  • Convenient web based storefront reduces the need for order takers and order fillers
  • Creates new revenue sources for materials previously "out of print"

RightsMarket is interested in speaking with anyone looking to secure content for online sale or distribution. RightsPublish offers a simple, quick-to-market solution for electronic publishing.

How does your DRM solution stand out from the others out there?

RightsMarket's RightsPublish solution is a true turnkey solution that allows customers to be fully integrated into an existing infrastructure and up and running in under 48 hours. Some of our key features such as Print-on-Demand allow us to offer a more complete solution that can be designed to integrate with the customer’s business objectives. Other features such as subscription, and membership allow customers to take advantage of alternate business models. Finally our Chameleon feature allows for varying degrees of branding of customer’s sites.

The world of eBooks and DRM has gone through a year of consolidation, how have you seen the past year and the direction in which it appears to be heading?

The past twelve months have not been kind to technology vendors and their shareholders. The hype and hyperbole initially associated with the Internet revolution has ended and the easy money has dried up. Technology companies are now faced with the prospect of building viable businesses or exiting the market.

Customers of IT companies have moved back to a more traditional IT integration model where technology is used to refine and improve existing business models. As such, people are more aware of how DRM, and eBooks, can be used to augment the current retailing channels rather than create markets where none previously existed. Trends like Print On Demand, where the existing brick and mortar business model is improved through optimized warehousing and inventory control, will become much more important. Customers are looking for more complete solutions. Simply being a DRM vendor is not enough.

What is the key thing that needs to occur before the widespread adoption of eBooks? A transparent rights management system? Improved display technology? More content? New devices?

RightsMarket sees three accelerators in this marketplace that are likely to occur and one which is much less likely.

  1. The first accelerator ( eBook Reader technology):

While the current stable of ebook readers have improved significantly over the last 12 months, people still do not curl up with a handheld to read a good spy novel. For that to happen two key things must occur; first the devices must become less technical. That is, the device must become more like a book and less like a computer; comfortable to hold and read from, flexible enough to be used in a variety of situations (i.e. low light, crowded bus), simple in functionality and inexpensive.

  1. The second accelerator ( Mixed Mode Content):

As people develop more mixed mode content (eg. Encarta Encyclopedia), this will drive the need for electronic distribution. This type of content cannot be consumed on paper.

  1. The third accelerator (comfort with eContent):

The consumer must be comfortable with consuming content electronically. Unfortunately, this consumer is still in school and about 5 years away from the marketplace. Kids, who are now growing up in the Internet age, not only consume most of their information electronically, but in fact, expect it that way.

Only when the current crop of college students reach a critical mass in the marketplace and the eBook device becomes ‘comfortable’ like a paper back will widespread adoption of the eBook occur.

  1. The fourth accelerator (a worldwide paper shortage):

This is highly unlikely, but a worldwide paper shortage coupled with dramatic rises in paper costs could drive up the usage of ebooks and electronic distribution dramatically.