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Collective action, a celebrity figurehead and a cultural shift are just some of the methods to reduce piracy, discussed at The Bookseller's Digital Conference FutureBook yesterday (2nd December).
George Walkley, head of digital at Hachette UK, said that Hachette was supportive of DRM; he however suggested alternative methods of combating piracy. "If we make it easy for people to buy what they want then we are deterring a broad swathe of casual piracy," he said. Walkley added that one of the main ways that piracy can be reduced was by collective action, through the Publishers Association and other groups.
The PA has been conducting research into this area and launched its Copyright Infringement Portal in February which has now issued over 2,000 'take down' notices. It has also conducted a pilot to investigate which types of books and publishers were most affected. Alicia Wise, digital director at the PA said that after looking at 10 different publishers and 100,000 titles it was concluded that piracy affected publishers of all sizes.
Shireen Peermohamed, IP lawyer at Harbottle & Lewis, added: "Piracy is on the up and there is a crucial turning point for publishers. It's not just a bestseller problem, but reference, health, academic books have all been targeted." Peermohamed said that there needed to be a change in the way that piracy was targeted. "We need to be addressing it in schools, a cultural shift. We need to be hammering it home—the idea that there is a link between this and organised crime."
Peermohamed suggested that having a well-known individual, such as Jeremy Clarkson, spearheading a campaign to teach children about piracy would be a "great idea".
Piers Blofeld, literary agent at Sheil Land Agency, said there were problems with the complexity and cost of DRM. "At best I think DRM is only part of the solution . . . scanning is so easy."