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Not really

---unlike paper copies, the students don't own their books, they
"license" them. That means that textbooks and references can
become an ongoing revenue stream instead of a one-time
purchase that sits on student shelves forever.---

Why would a student license a textbook for more than the
amount of time they need to complete the course? Some may
want to hang on to material for future reference, but couldn't
they just print out what they want and store that?

---One of my old physics texts (Fermi's Thermodynamics) that
was old when I had the class thirty-plus years ago was used by
one of my kids for a recent class.---

You don't need DRM for that. What most textbook publishers do
is put out a new edition every 2-3 years, which effectively kills
off the used textbook market for that title. A student doesn't
want a textbook that lacks the new material the teacher is
teaching. A bigger threat to the textbook market is the global
nature of the economy. Publishers sell their books for much
lower prices in particular markets (India for example). This
didn't use to be a problem, as an American student didn't have
access to the books in India. But now, with the internet, it's easy
enough to order from abroad, and the shipping is still less than
the higher price charged in the USA.

Posted by: tic swayback   Posted on: 08/04/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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