Hell has frozen over..DriveThruRPG selling non-DRM books
- Thread starter Dark Psion
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adriayna
First Post
I wonder how much the watermark system will really help? So if they find a pirated copy of a PDF online and it bears their watermark, and they had 300 customers buy a copy, it doesn't seem to help much, does it?
But I do think they are moving in the right direction. I certainly haven't bought any DRM stuff nor was I planning on it. Now, however, I'm willing to give them a 2nd look.
But I do think they are moving in the right direction. I certainly haven't bought any DRM stuff nor was I planning on it. Now, however, I'm willing to give them a 2nd look.
johnsemlak
First Post
adriayna said:
As someone posted above, I understand that the watermark has the name of the purchaser on the PDF. So, there's a PDF with your name on it floating around... (EDIT--Arg, Merric beat me to it. Curse my dial up connection!)
Now, I know nothing about htis technology. I have seen it debated in the publishers' forum and I get the impression many people think it won't be effective.
Still, it this is something that allows people to buy from DTRPG without the hassles of DRM, looks like a great move.
Last edited:
Frostmarrow
First Post
This is good news! Hope it works out well for all involved.
And they are allowing old customers to re-download. That's pretty neat.
And they are allowing old customers to re-download. That's pretty neat.
IMO, the best feature of watermarking is not that it will make distribution impossible, but that it will have a psychological impact on the customers. It isn't the possible penalties that generally stop someone from doing something, its the chances of getting caught. With a watermarked PDF, there is a 100% chance you will be caught, if the publisher chooses to look on the P2P networks. Just imagine the response of a typical gamer, if say, for example they redistribute a Malhavoc watermarked PDF, and they get a letter at their house from Monte Cook, telling them to stop distributing or there will be have to be further steps taken!
And prison time is just silly, as you can't be punished by prison time for copyright infringement.
As I understand it, there are many different kinds of watermarks, depending on the technology used. The simplest is to print the customer's name and a serial number on the page. This information can also be encrypted, or placed under the text in the same color as the background material, or other variations. As I've said, this technology is in wide use in the ebook industry. It is far better business sense, as it doesn't interfere with the customer using the product. The biggest problem with DRM schemes is that the free illegal copy is a superior product to the protected legitimate copy.
And prison time is just silly, as you can't be punished by prison time for copyright infringement.
As I understand it, there are many different kinds of watermarks, depending on the technology used. The simplest is to print the customer's name and a serial number on the page. This information can also be encrypted, or placed under the text in the same color as the background material, or other variations. As I've said, this technology is in wide use in the ebook industry. It is far better business sense, as it doesn't interfere with the customer using the product. The biggest problem with DRM schemes is that the free illegal copy is a superior product to the protected legitimate copy.
johnsemlak
First Post
maddman75 said:
Question--if watermarking is so effective, why isn't this technology used at say--RPGNow?
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