When thinking about ordering books most consumers can’t help but think of Amazon as their first choice. The ‘everything-store' makes it easy for customers to order books and other things by only having to click a few buttons. The website is easy to use, trustworthy, shipping is often free, or at least quite cheap, and delivery times are usually very quick. For this reason, holding a good relationship with Amazon is very important for publishers, as a large amount of their publications are being distributed through the online-retailer’s website.

In May “Hachette refused to give Amazon pricing control over its e-books, which would have seen most of their digital titles discounted to less than $10 a book” (Ellis-Petersen, 2014).
This lead to Amazon “delaying delivery of the publisher’s books, preventing pre-orders and removing discounts” (Cheshire, 2014). Amazon marked many Hachette titles as out-of-stock, displayed extra long estimated delivery times for their books, and also prevented their customers from pre-ordering Hachette publications. Hachette is one of the five biggest publishers in the world (‘The Big 5’), which made the dispute with Amazon highly discussed in the media.

On the publishers website Hachette made several statements about the conflict with the online-retailer (Hachettebookgroup.com, 2014).
They stated that “Amazon has limited its customers' ability to buy more than 5,000 Hachette titles” and reminded consumers that there are other online retail channels where they can order Hachette publications, such as “barnesandnoble.com, powells.com, booksamillion.com, walmart.com, target.com, overstock.com, and in thousands of great chain and independent bookstores across the country” (Hachettebookgroup.com, 2014).

This month they finally resolved their dispute, right in time for the very important Christmas season.  The agreement was made in Hachette's favour, giving the publisher the control over its own e-book pricing (Streitfeld, 2014). However, both the publisher and the online retailer suffered from the conflict, as sales dropped due to the fact that they made it difficult for consumers to purchase certain publications (Streitfeld, 2014). Furthermore, the conflict has left Amazon with a reputation of being a “bully” (Streitfeld, 2014) amongst authors, publishers and consumers. 


The power game between Amazon and Hachette teaches us, that publishers should in no way be afraid of Amazon. As much as it is important for the distribution of their books, sometimes it helps to raise your voice against a giant like Amazon and not to put up with everything they decide, because Amazon needs the publishers as much as they need Amazon.  At least the large publishers have the power to do so, for the smaller, less influential ones, however, this may be more difficult. 

- 425 words

Bibliography 

BBC News, (2014). Amazon and Hachette Settle Dispute. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30044531; [Accessed 15 Nov. 2014].
Cheshire, T. (2014). Burying The Hachette? Amazon Climbs Down. [online] Sky News. Available at: http://news.sky.com/story/1373454/burying-the-hachette-amazon-climbs-down; [Accessed 15 Nov. 2014].
Ellis-Petersen, H. (2014). Amazon and Publisher Hachette End Dispute Over Online Book Sales. [online] the Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/13/amazon-hachette-end-dispute-ebooks; [Accessed 15 Nov. 2014].
Gillette, F. (2014). Hachette Looks Like the Winner as Its War With Amazon Ends. [online] Businessweek.com. Available at: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-11-13/hachette-looks-like-the-winner-as-war-with-amazon-ends; [Accessed 15 Nov. 2014].
Hachettebookgroup.com, (2014). Hachette Book Group has Made the Following Public Statements About its Recent Issues with Amazon. [online] Available at: http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/news/; [Accessed 15 Nov. 2014].
PublishersWeekly.com, (2014). Amazon Versus Hachette: The Whole Story. [online] Available at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/63304-amazon-versus-hachette-the-whole-story.html; [Accessed 15 Nov. 2014].
Stenovec, T. (2014). The Amazon and Hachette Feud Is Over, For Now. [online] The Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/13/amazon-hachette-agreement_n_6152562.html; [Accessed 15 Nov. 2014].
Stenovec, T. (2014). Amazon Probably Didn't Get What It Wanted In The Hachette Deal. [online] The Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/14/amazon-hachette-deal_n_6159414.html  [Accessed 15 Nov. 2014].http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/14/amazon-hachette-deal_n_6159414.html
Streitfeld, D. (2014). Amazon and Hachette Resolve Dispute. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/14/technology/amazon-hachette-ebook-dispute.html; [Accessed 15 Nov. 2014].
Tam, D. (2014). Amazon and Hachette Settle Bitter E-book Dispute. [online] CNET. Available at: http://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-and-hachette-settle-bitter-e-book-dispute/; [Accessed 15 Nov. 2014].
The Economist, (2014). Frozen conflict. [online] Available at: http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21632802-deal-between-two-firms-unlikely-end-dispute-over-prices-and-profits-e-books-frozen; [Accessed 15 Nov. 2014].
Trachtenberg, J. and Bensinger, G. (2014). Amazon, Hachette End Publishing Dispute. [online] WSJ. Available at: http://online.wsj.com/articles/amazon-hachette-end-publishing-dispute-1415898013; [Accessed 15 Nov. 2014].
Weise, E. (2014). Amazon-Hachette: The War of the Button. [online] Usatoday.com. Available at: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/11/13/amazon-hachette-preorder-publishing/18995643/; [Accessed 15 Nov. 2014].

There is no doubt that the way students learn has changed drastically due to the digital revolution. The traditional way of having a (physical) textbook, a (physical) notepad and a pen as the only studying tools seems almost impossible nowadays. The internet and technology in general have opened up all kinds of new opportunities in the educational sector and “if publishers fail to adapt to this changing landscape, they are risking share, revenue and ultimately the survival of their business” (Robinson, 2014).

Hence, many educational publishers started to “think about broader strategic issues, and in some cases, took bold steps to try to reposition the firm and redefine its publishing activities” (Thompson, 2005). It is no longer enough for them to provide their consumers with knowledge exclusively through textbooks, they have to offer various extra digital tools to be able to compete in the market. These tools are especially electronic learning resources e.g. ActiveTeach and ActiveLearn by Pearson (Pearsonactivelearn.com, 2014; Pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk, 2014) which students and teachers can access online.  
There are a variety of opportunities for digital use in scholarly publishing. Here are some key examples: 


For teachers:
- using the digital learning resources to plan lessons
- keeping students interested due to new ways of teaching with multimedia content
- saving time, as most of the materials needed are on the database
- using the provided materials to mix with their own teaching resources

For students:
- makes learning more efficient
- makes studying more exciting
- can be used for homework, exam and test preparation, revision, etc.
- students can study at their own pace, without holding anyone back (Pearsonactivelearn.com, 2014)

For publishers:
- attracting a broader audience; e.g. schools who are interested in going
   more digital might be interested
- increased competitiveness
- being part of an educational revolution 

However, the opportunities that open up for publishers also come with challenges.
To provide the best quality content they have to make sure that:

- students get more from their 
   learning resources than from the usual free online content
- what they provide is cross-device compatible 
- consumers have 24/7 access
- they are able to operate print and electronic programs simultaneously
- it is affordable
- it is easy to use (→ schools usually can’t afford to send their employees on training sessions) (Thompson, 2005)


To conclude, I am convinced that technology plays an extremely important role in educational publishing and that it will grow and become even more powerful in the future. Schools will be highly digital and they need publishers to adapt to this changing environment. “Now, more than ever, there is a real focus on developing products that have effective outcomes for students” (Smolaks, 2014), and digital education models that can be used with the printed textbooks offer a chance to do so. As priority, publishers have to make sure that they create content that fulfils teachers, students and parents expectations and needs.
“The winners will be those who are early to adopt digitally-driven strategies and are committed enough to change their organisation’s mind-set and ways” (Robinson, 2014).


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Bibliography

Bowen, W. (2013). Higher Education in the Digital Age. [online] Times Higher Education. Available at: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/books/higher-education-in-the-digital-age-by-william-g-bowen/2004289.article; [Accessed 14 Nov. 2014].
Brown, L., Griffiths, R. and Rascoff, M. (2007). University Publishing In A Digital Age. 1st ed. [PDF] Available at: http://www.sr.ithaka.org/sites/default/files/reports/4.13.1.pdf; [Accessed 14 Nov. 2014].
Bull, B. (2013). Digital Culture & the Future of Educational Publishing. [online] Etale - Life & Learning in the Digital World. Available at: http://etale.org/main/2013/07/22/digital-culture-the-future-of-educational-publishing/; [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014].
Cshe.berkeley.edu, (2014). The Future of Scholarly Communication. [online] Available at: http://www.cshe.berkeley.edu/research/future-scholarly-communication; [Accessed 14 Nov. 2014].
Edlab.tc.columbia.edu, (2014). Effects of the Digital Age on Research Standards and Academic Publishing; EdLab. [online] Available at: http://edlab.tc.columbia.edu/index.php?q=node/1749; [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014].
Greenhill, B. (2014). Beyond Current Horizons: The Digital Landscape and New Education Providers. [online] Beyondcurrenthorizons.org.uk. Available at: http://www.beyondcurrenthorizons.org.uk/the-digital-landscape-and-new-education-providers/; [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014].
Hargrave, J. (2014). Educational Publishing: An Industry in Transition in the Digital Age. TXT Leiden, [online] 1(1). Available at: http://www.txtleiden.org/2014/educational-publishing; [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014].
Hepg.org, (2014). Harvard Educational Review. [online] Available at: http://hepg.org/her-home/issues/harvard-educational-review-volume-82-number-3/herarticle/a-view-from-egypt_1204; [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014].
Pearson India, (2014). Pearson - Publishing in the Digital Age. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8U57-pYCzo; [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014].
Pearsonactivelearn.com, (2014). ActiveLearn. [online] Available at: https://www.pearsonactivelearn.com; [Accessed 14 Nov. 2014].
Pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk, (2014). ActiveTeach. [online] Available at: http://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/ActiveTeach/ActiveTeachhome2.aspx; [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014].
Robinson, C. (2014). Reinventing Educational Publishing for the Digital Age - Thinking Outside The Books. 1st ed. Ixxus.
Scheer, R. (2014). Learning in the Digital Age. [online] Blogs.scientificamerican.com. Available at: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/at-scientific-american/2013/08/08/learning-in-the-digital-age-executive-stem-summit/; [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014].
Sheikh, U. (11/11/2014). Digital Educational Publishing at Pearson; Oxford Brookes University
Smolaks, M. (2014). IT Life: Taking Book Publishing Into The Digital Age. [online] TechWeekEurope UK. Available at: http://www.techweekeurope.co.uk/workspace/life-taking-book-publishing-digital-age-141616; [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014].
Thompson, J. (2005). Books in the Digital Age. Cambridge, U.K.: Polity Press.
Traylor, S. (2014). Need-to-know Advice for Publishing in the Digital Age. [online] Educational Publishing. Available at: http://aepweb.org/aepweb/?p=3798&option=com_wordpress&Itemid=68; [Accessed 14 Nov. 2014].
Unchaining Educational Publishing in the Digital Age. (2004). 1st ed. Sydney: Copyright Agency Limited.
Wright, J. (2014). Discuss: Print Publishing Can Survive the Digital Age. [online] Ideastap.com. Available at: http://www.ideastap.com/IdeasMag/all-articles/DISCUSS-can-print-publishing-survive-digital; [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014].

A research project by Nielsen in 2013 released (Nielsen, 2013), that “the proportion of children reading digitally has increased in some age groups. Between 25-33% have done so overall, and a small but significant proportion of 14-17 year olds report that they now only read in digital format” (Nielsen, 2013).

Considering these figures it is clear that publishers can’t ignore this shift and have to understand that the children’s book industry is also heading into new territory. To be able to compete they have to make reading more interesting by letting children participate in the book by creating digital online products with interactive features. Regarding printed books, they have to publish “fresh compelling content to compete with the activities (principally gaming and communication with their peers) that are increasingly now attracting the interest of children in these age bands” (Nielsen, 2013). 

In my opinion, it is important that publishers, as well as parents, to think of this new way of consuming books for children as an opportunity rather than a threat. By making reading more exciting for children, more of them might be encouraged to actually read, instead of just watching TV. By attracting children to books through digital enhancements they may also learn to appreciate traditional, text only, books. 


What publishers can do:

 Publishers should make sure that there will always be room for both, digital and physical books. They need to make sure they don’t cause market cannibalism. This can be avoided by making digital and physical products companions instead of competitors. For example for “Disney's Kingdom Keepers app, readers must have the book to "unlock" the game” (Springen, 2010).


What schools can do:

Even though it seems easier to give every student a tablet, where they can download all their textbooks, schools shouldn’t completely abandon physical books. As it is good to teach children how to use these the devices in an early stage, however, students should also be encouraged to enjoy
physical books (e.g. the novels to be read in English class).

What parents can do:

When it comes to parents it is important that they don’t just plop their kids in front of devices. They should also encourage their children to use both forms, by e.g. reading to them from physical books and in doing so, teach them to enjoy the simplicity of a printed book and the wonderful illustrations that come with them.

In conclusion, I’m convinced that in the future, printed children’s books will still have a place on the bookshelf, simply because some things are just impossible with ebooks, as for example the very popular touch-and-feel books. Regardless, digital children’s publishing should not be ignored as it can lead a lot of kids to reading more books.

- 554 words

Bibliography 


Béhar, P., Colombani, L., Krishnan, S. (2011); Publishing in the Digital Era - A Bain & Company Study for the Forum d’Avignon; 1st ed.; [pdf]; Available at: http://www.bain.com/Images/BB_Publishing_in_the_digital_era_4_11.pd; [Accessed 30 Oct. 2014]
Digital Book World, (2010); Children's Publishing in the Digital Age; [online] Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/digitalbookworld/childrens-publishing-in-the-digital-age; [Accessed 30 Oct. 2014]
Dredge, S. (2014); Tablets in schools: Coding, Creativity and the Importance of Teachers; [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/27/tablets-schools-coding-kids-education-ipad; [Accessed 30 Oct. 2014]
Hughes, S. (2014); Children's Publishing in the Digital Age - Where Reading and Interactivity Collide, Oxford Brookes University
Londonbookfair.co.uk, (2014); Understanding the Children’s Book Consumer in the Digital Age; [online] Available at: http://www.londonbookfair.co.uk/en/Sessions/4587/Understanding-the-Childrens-Book-Consumer-in-the-Digital-Age; [Accessed 30 Oct. 2014]
Nielsen, (2013); Is Technology Challenging Children's Reading?; [Press Release] Available at: http://www.nielsenbook.co.uk/uploads/press/1NielsenPR_IsTechnologyChallengingChildren'sReading_Sept13.pdf; [Accessed 30 Oct. 2014]
Springen, K. (2010); The Digital Revolution in Children's Publishing; [online] Available at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/43879-the-digital-revolution-in-children-s-publishing.html; [Accessed 30 Oct. 2014]
Vaughan, R. (2013); Tablets in Schools Double in One Year; [online] Available at: http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6339835; [Accessed 30 Oct. 2014]

As technology offers a chance for publishers to explore new opportunities and business models, it also opens up many issues. One of the biggest problems publishers have to face ever since entering the digital world, is piracy.
This is a global issue occurring everywhere where technology is dominant. Movies, music and other media are being downloaded illegally every day from people all over the world, and since digital publishing emerged, this problem has also found its way to the publishing world.
As consumers have the opportunity to download books legally online (by buying them from e.g. the Kindle Store), they have the possibility of doing so illegally.
Looking at this issue several questions arise: How does piracy happen? What impact does it have? Is it a real threat to publishers? Are there any ways to combat piracy?

How does piracy happen?
The three methods used to access pirated content are: peer-to-peer file sharing, cloud storage ‘cyberlockers’, and online-reading sites (Springen, 2014).
For example, Dan Brown’s Book ‘The Lost Symbol’ was found illegally downloaded on over 1,000 websites by the end of its first week in September 2009 (Hill, 2010). For some reason it seems like many people don't understand that downloading all kinds of media content illegally is a crime. Most of them would never shoplift, but they have no problem hitting the download button, knowing that they are breaking the law by doing so. Many of them just expect that digital content is supposed to be free, and as they commit the crime on their computer, alone, they have no scruples and concerns, let alone feel guilty about their actions.

What impact does it have and is it a real threat to publishers?
It is clear that everyone who is involved in the distribution of books (authors, publishers, agents, booksellers, etc.) is being affected by this: “U.S. publishers across all categories lose $80 million to $100 million annually to piracy” (Springen, 2014). “With emerging e-book standards and the growing popularity of iPads, Kindles and other e-readers, book piracy is expected to grow dramatically in 2014 and beyond” (Digimarc.com, 2014). So this means, that piracy is a real issue and that it does have a dramatic affect on the book industry

Are there any ways to combat piracy?

A first step would be to raise awareness amongst consumers, to make clear what damage online piracy is doing, and also what someone has to expect when being caught downloading ebooks from illegal websites. 

In terms of what publishers could do to fight piracy, licensing e-books to libraries is one way, as “libraries encourage users to borrow books instead of pirating them” (Springen, 2014).

Furthermore publishers have “to publish digital content across as many formats as possible, through as many channels, at a fair price” (Hill, 2010).

Last but not least publishers should make use of anti-piracy technology. For example, HarperCollins now uses ‘Guardian Watermarking’, a new, cloud-based, tool to prevent ebooks from being pirated, by embedding “an invisible watermark into ebooks at the time of transaction” (Dixit, 2014). This makes it easier to track down whoever pirated a book.


To conclude, there is no doubt that pirating ebooks is a crime of stealing intellectual property and therefore publishers are in the right when taking action to put an end to this. 
The steps they are taking to do so seem to be a good approach and will hopefully effectively reduce the amour of illegally downloaded ebooks

- 569 words


Bibliography
Boog, J., (2012); How To Fight Book Pirates; [online] Social Times; Available at: http://socialtimes.com/how-to-save-your-ebook-from-pirates_b175406; [Accessed 25 Oct. 2014]
Deahl, R., (2012); Is Rowling Tarnishing Her Rep Abroad over Piracy Fears?; [online] PublishersWeekly.com.; Available at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/international-book-news/article/53337-is-rowling-tarnishing-her-rep-abroad-over-piracy-fears.html; [Accessed 25 Oct. 2014]
Digimarc.com, (2014); Protecting Publishers and Their Authors from Digital Piracy; [online] Digimarc.com; Available at: http://www.digimarc.com/docs/default-source/digimarc-guardian/dmrc-sb-guardian-overview.pdf?sfvrsn=12; [Accessed 25 Oct. 2014]
Dixit, P., (2014); HarperCollins Is Now Using Digital Watermarks To Stop Ebook Piracy; [online] Gizmodo; Available at: http://gizmodo.com/harpercollins-is-now-using-digital-watermarks-to-stop-e-1635220938; [Accessed 25 Oct. 2014]
Doctorow, C., (2013); The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Piracy, DRM, and the E-book Issue [online] Publishing.sfu.ca.; Available at: http://publishing.sfu.ca/2013/01/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-piracy-drm-and-the-e-book-issue/; [Accessed 25 Oct. 2014]
Greenfield, J., (2013); Does Piracy Hurt Digital Content Sales? Yes; [online] Digitalbookworld.com.; Available at: http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/does-piracy-hurt-digital-content-sales-yes/; [Accessed 25 Oct. 2014]
Hill, A., (2010); Book Publishers Fear Threat of Digital Piracy; [online] Financial Times; Available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b93aaec4-6435-11df-8618-00144feab49a.html#axzz3HFkQPuyc; [Accessed 25 Oct. 2014]
Macmillan Publishers, (2014); Macmillan's Anti-Piracy; [online] Macmillan Publishers; Available at: http://us.macmillan.com/piracy; [Accessed 25 Oct. 2014]http://us.macmillan.com/piracy
Reimers, I., (2014); The Effect of Piracy Protection in Book Publishing; 1st ed. [pdf] University of Minnesota; Available at: http://www.econ.umn.edu/~reime062/research/piracy_paper.pdf; [Accessed 25 Oct. 2014]
Sechi, L., (2014); Hot Topics: Piracy; [online] Ifbookthen.com.; Available at: http://www.ifbookthen.com/hot-topics-piracy/; [Accessed 25 Oct. 2014]
Springen, K., (2014); What YA Publishers and Authors Can Do to Fight E-Book Piracy; [online] PublishersWeekly.com; Available at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/63357-the-piracy-problem.html; [Accessed 25 Oct. 2014]

Magazine and newspaper publishers are the primary users of the the subscription business model, where consumers pay a certain amount every month and in return, receive weekly or monthly copies. This lowers the risk for the company, as they know in advance that the people who have subscribed, are definitely going to purchase the latest issue, as they are bound by contract.

Due to the advantages that come with subscriptions for the companies, this business model is also generated in other areas, as for example ‘Netflix’, with a video-on-demand streaming offer, and ‘Spotify’, a music streaming service. These services are very popular, however subscribers criticise the low number of titles available for streaming (Online Athens, 2014). This is due to money and rights to content: They cannot license everything and at the same time keep their low prices (£6.99 a month) (Collinson, 2014).

Due to the success of Netflix and others, this concept was also picked up by publishers, as for example Mills & Boon, who specialise in romance novels. Here consumers can decide between an eBook, starting from £1.99 for one novel every month, and a paperback-book subscription, where they receive the latest physical copy of their favourite series by mail to a discounted price.

"EBook subscription is set to be one of the key trends of this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair" (Technology, 2014) and of course now Amazon also offers an eBook and audiobook subscription to their consumers, called ‘Kindle Unlimited’. Whoever signs up, has “unlimited access to over 6500,000 titles and thousands of audiobooks on any device for just £7.99 a month”  (Amazon.co.uk, 2014). In addition, the first month is for free.

It appears that Amazon also struggles, just like Netflix, to get publishers to agree to the unlimited service. Even though Kindle Unlimited has some well- known titles by famous authors in their library, “the service does not include books from the ‘Big 5’ publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Penguin Random House” (Bellstrom, 2014). This means that it, despite the large number of titles, consumers may struggle to find their favourite books. Moreover this service is not actually ‘unlimited’, because subscribers can only keep 10 books at a time on their device.

By missing titles from the most well-known publishers, the question might arise if eBook subscriptions offer the same quality content as you can find when buying books the traditional way. Especially because “presently, self-publish content represents 85% of the books available via the servicewhile also paying the monthly” (Technology, 2014). Furthermore the question arises whether it really is cheaper. If a consumer wants to read a book that can’t be found in the library, he or she has to purchase it outside of Kindle Unlimited, pay the regular price, while also paying the monthly fee for the subscription

Whether an eBook subscription is worth paying for monthly or not depends upon “how many books you tend to read a month, what types of books you read, and the devices for reading you have access to” (Klosowski, 2014). 

Personally, I probably would not sign up for Kindle Unlimited or any other eBook subscription service, mainly because I don’t like being obligated by a contract. Moreover, also because I like browsing in bookstores and being able to decide whether I want an eBook or a physical copy. I dislike being constrained to an ereader. Furthermore I want access to trusted brands like Penguin and HarperCollins, because they very rarely disappoint me.

Despite the current issues as a business model eBook subscription is well suited to consumer consumption. This idea could become very powerful, especially if the ‘Big 5’ agree on a collaboration.

- 562 words

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Publishing Technology,  (201);. What Kindle Unlimited is Doing for Author Earnings; Publishing Technology, Available at:  http://www.publishingtechnology.com/2014/09/what-kindle-unlimited-is-doing-for-author-earnings/ [Accessed 17 Oct. 2014].
Publishing Technology, (2014); What Kindle Unlimited is Doing for Author Earnings; publishingtechnology.com; Available at: http://www.publishingtechnology.com/2014/09/what-kindle-unlimited-is-doing-for-author-earnings/; [Accessed 16 Oct. 2014]

After recently watching a documentary Terms and Conditions May Apply (“Terms and Conditions May Apply”, 2013) I began thinking about the unread terms and conditions we frequently agree to when downloading ebooks. 

When buying something people expect ownership. This assumption also applies to clicking the “Buy” button at the Kindle store.
Looking up the definition of ownership it says: “The act, state, or right of possessing something” (Oxforddictionaries.com, 2014). So, as people are buying their ebooks from the Amazon Kindle Store, they therefore believe that they own their ebooks. But is that actually the case?

Buying a physical book at a bookstore means the consumer can do whatever he or she wants with it. They can lend it to their friends, resell it at a flee market, etc. However, this is not possible with electronic books. As stated in Amazon Kindle Store’s terms and conditions, the consumer “[…] may not sell, rent, lease, distribute, broadcast, sublicense or otherwise assign any rights to the Kindle content or any portion of it to any third party […]” (Amazon.co.uk, 2014).

Furthermore, Amazon has the right to remove the content on your ereader for any reason -which has happened in the past (Naughton, 2009) - as consumers agree to the paragraph that states that “[…] Kindle content is licensed, not sold, to you by the content provider” (Amazon.co.uk, 2014). This means, that even though you ‘buy’ the book, you don’t own it, but Amazon does.

Consequently, the terms and conditions we agree to when downloading ebooks limit us in our freedom of ownership and redefine what that actually means.


Digital rights management protects copyright. Given the importance of copyright restricting product usage is understandable. 
However, only a few people are aware of these facts, as the term ‘buy’ is misleading, giving consumers the impression to own something that is not actually theirs. 
Regarding the importance of digital rights management and the protection of intellectual property by copyright, this is understandable. However, only a few people are aware of these facts, as the term ‘buy’ is misleading, giving consumers the impression to own something that is not actually theirs. 

Bibliography
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Amazon.co.uk, (2014); Buy now [screenshot]; Available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inside-Book-Publishing-Giles-Clark-ebook/dp/B00LC9DDQ6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1412537457&sr=1-1&keywords=inside+book+publishing; [Accessed 2 Oct. 2014]
Brown, E., (2012); Why Amazon is within its rights to remove access to your Kindle books; Available at: http://www.zdnet.com/why-amazon-is-within-its-rights-to-remove-access-to-your-kindle-books-7000006385/; [Accessed 2 Oct. 2014]
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Jisclegal.ac.uk, (2014); What are the copyright issues in lending Kindles and ebooks to our students?; Available at: http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/ManageContent/ViewDetail/ID/2145/What-are-the-copyright-issues-in-lending-Kindles-and-ebooks-to-our-students-01-May-2013.aspx; [Accessed 1 Oct. 2014]
Mademers.com, (2011); Indie Author Pays Dearly for Misunderstanding Kindle Terms and Conditions; Available at: http://mademers.com/globalindieauthor/2011/12/indie-author-pays-dearly-for-misunderstanding-kindle-terms-and-conditions/; [Accessed 3 Oct. 2014]
Naughton, J., (2009); Kindle readers beware - big Amazon is watching you read 1984; Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/nov/08/amazon-kindle-licence-orwell; [Accessed 4 Oct. 2014]
Neal, M., (2013), Do You Ever Own Your E-Books?; Available at: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/do-you-ever-own-your-e-books; [Accessed 1 Oct. 2014]
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