Lightweight Content Protection (LCP) Alternative to the value-destroying Adobe DRM Nicolas Pastorino VP Product, Marketing, Customer Service npastorino@tea-ebook.com @jeanvoye Feb 2015 Brussels Joint EIBF/FEP meeting
Agenda 1. The reality of ebook after-sales support 2. Moments of truth: end-user tests 3. Cost, impact of Adobe DRM on the ebook industry 4. Economic & technical alternative : LCP 2
Support Activity at TEA: Facts & Figures 1% 1% 1 support ticket per 200 purchased books 60% of tickets related to Adobe DRM 7% 6% 5% 4% Total; Autre; 129; 18% 2% 2% 1% Support tickets type breakdown, since Nov 2012 0% 21% 32% Adobe Download Téléchargement Misc Autre Contenu Content Paiement - remboursement Payment Connexion/réseau Network/connection Transfert Transfer Epub fixed layout epub Fixed Layout Compatibilité Cdiscount Cdiscount Paramètrages compat Liseuses Ink-readers TEA-AlbinMichel config 12,00% 10,00% 8,00% 10,45% 7,31% 8,11% Ratio between amount of support tickets processed and amount of purchased books 6,00% 4,00% 2,00% 0,00% 2,24% 3,14% 3,13% 1,92% 1,80% 0,83% 1,09% 1,22% 1,10% 1,03% 0,72% 1,09% 0,85% 0,71% 0,68% 0,71% 0,79% 0,77% 0,81% 0,72% 0,56% 0,66% 0,56% 0,72% 0,64% 0,60% 3
Moments of truth: end-user panels Panel of ~100 potential users Test conditions Recruited in points of sale With or without upfront tendency towards e-reading Tested without external help (on-demand only) Test scenario 1. Account creation 2. First purchase 3. Reading of the purchased ebook Tested devices Ink-reader iphone/ipad application Android application 4
Main take-away How many tested end-users successfully read (without help) ebooks protected by an Adobe DRM? 0% 5
Our first reaction 6
End-user perception of Adobe DRM 4% 0% 18% 26% Does not under the difference with bookseller account Thinks it is a kind of reader Does not understand and does nothing Proceeds without understanding 30% 22% Knew from before Understood by himself 7
Adobe captures much value Adobe DRM hurts us, 4 times rather than 1 Slows down adoption of ebook, Slows down innovation & technology, Exhorbitant cost: ~100K /y for TEA only, Theft of customer data + usage data Damages the entire book-chain 8
A Painful Way to Protect Authors & Publishers French ebooks catalog (~190 000 titles): 60% forced under Adobe DRM (metadata) Alternatives (watermarking) not used a lot Cost of after-sales support People solving after-sales issues instead of selling, Cost of opportunity You don t have twice the chance to make a good first impression Adobe DRM creates a deceptive first purchasing/reading experience Damages customer loyalty much less sales on the long-run 9
But Generally positive attitude: Despite serious hurdles, end-users still project themselves in the usage of ebooks, Some «quick-fixes» may marginally improve the user experience: Better guidance, or changes in user-interface wording to workaround the most frequent mistakes. 10
Our second reaction HOPE! 11
Replacing Adobe DRM LCP : Lightweight Content Protection, A Readium project Lightweight DRM technology Well-tested, solid cryptography preserves authors & publishers rights Possibility to control printing, copy/paste, text-to-speech No third-party control: One, single user account (=bookseller account), Not bound to an outdated ebook reading technology. Less costly Keep the security level, remove the compexity Sub-project of the Readium SDK project (http://readium.org/projects/readium-lcp) 12
User Experience: Using Adobe DRM vs. LCP Adobe LCP Adobe Server 6 steps until reading 4 steps too long for the user, 5. Reading authorization 3 parties request (ACSM) 3 points of User Experience failure, 1. Purchase (with Adobe controls: customer account) Customer accounts 2. Reading device / customer account mapping Behavioural data 0. Reading device / Adobe account mapping 4. Opening of ACSM file 6. Opening of actual book 3 steps until reading 1 step away only from a seamless experience, 2 parties 1. Purchase (with customer account) Less chances to fail, 0. Reading device / customer account mapping 3. Opening of actual book Adobe controls nothing: Book store Reading device The bookseller 2. Download of book & publisher do. Book store 3. Download of ACSM file Reading device 13
LCP: Next steps Technical maturity - Implementation well on its way, - Working prototype at TEA Industry adoption required - Support Readium members in their initiative around LCP - Members: http://readium.org/membership - Release «Adobe DRM» constraint from metadata/onyx: «DRM» is open, allows for LCP 14
» The reality of ebook after-sales support» Moments of truth: enduser tests» Cost, impact of Adobe DRM on the ebook industry» Economic & technical alternative : LCP Questions? Get in touch anytime: npastorino@tea-ebook.com Nicolas Pastorino VP Product, Marketing, Customer Service npastorino@tea-ebook.com @jeanvoye