E-Books, Piracy, Publishers & You

As the popularity of e-books grows, pirated copies will become an increasingly larger problem for publishers. New York Times writer, Randal Stross asks "Will Books Be Napsterized?"; unfortunately for the publishing industry it isn't really a question of will but of how. Stross predicts that the publishers will struggle with piracy as readers make the transition to e-books. However, I see a big difference between the two. Napster and other forms of music piracy became popular before the music industry had caught up with how to sell MP3 players and music to consumers. With e-books, it seems that the publishing industry and technology are becoming the driving force behind the transition to reading books digitally. My question is: is it possible that this difference will have an effect on whether or not consumers will pirate books?

Despite my belief that people will always choose free over paying (regardless of legality) I believe that the publishing industry is in the position to potentially curb readers from pirating. Because e-books are so new and the publishers are at the forefront of selling this technololgy to consumers, I think they have the power to quickly establish a paying culture with e-books. By offering customization, add-ons, apps, and low prices sellers of e-books could quickly establish quality differences between purchased and pirated e-books. No telling how this will all turn out, but I'm hoping that the threat of piracy and the lessons learned from the music industry will force publishers to give readers the best deal possible.