Electronic publishing WAS: [sdiy] IP, copyright etc

[Seb Francis]

Seems we just wrote basically the same thing :)

Niels A. Moseley wrote:

>
> One could include a hidden and unique serial number in the PDF so 
> you'll always be able to trace the original buyer.

This is a nice idea, but still quite easy to 'crack' (i.e. just remove 
or obscure the serial number) - and if you keep the existence of the 
serial a secret then it wouldn't be much of a deterrent (unless you want 
to make your money from suing the buyers who passed on pirate copies!)

But I still maintain that you have to trust that most people will want 
to buy a copy if the price is reasonable.  I think this is especially 
true for a niche market like SDIY.  For more mainstream products (e.g. 
Britney Spears ;) it's very easy to find a pirated copy, but for 
something more unusual it's usually preferable for people just to buy it 
than spend hours of their valuable time searching.

Seb