Block Chain Technology May Bring True E-Book Ownership

Most publishers use Digital Rights Management (DRM) to encrypt their e-books, while some retailers, such as Amazon, have their own formats. Publishers have stipulated that when you buy e-books, you only need authorization. There is no real sense of ownership. This has led to a crisis of confidence in e-format, because e-book stores may close and systems shut down, and anyone who buys e-books is unlucky. Block chain technology may change the game rules of e-books and ultimately give us real ownership.
What is a block chain?

Block chains are a special type of distributed database or ledger that is changing the way online assets are sold and distributed worldwide. In the block chain ledger, transactions in digital assets are recorded as a block. Each block has a timestamp and a link to the previous block - since no block is allowed to run independently, transactions are protected from tampering. This technology has been used in digital currencies such as Bitcoin to ensure the legitimacy of each transaction. Block chains are used to protect the publishing industry from counterfeiting and piracy, and will enable publishers to sponsor, issue and monetize their digital products.

Who is driving the e-book block chain?

Two companies are developing block-chain technology for e-books. The e-book platforms of these two start-ups are Scenariox, headquartered in Montreal, and Publica, headquartered in Gibraltar and Latvia, respectively.

General conception

The basic concept of today's e-book and block-chain startups is to imitate ownership -- as a practical technical issue -- more closely than existing digital content distribution systems. The idea is to use two attributes of block chains to help promote digital ownership. First, there is no owner in the block chain, so records of file ownership in the block chain are not controlled by central publishers such as Amazon or Barnes & Noble Bookstores. Secondly, the block chain is immutable, so if a system enters into a block chain that you own an ebook, the entry will always exist, even if the supplier of the technology you use to buy the ebook goes bankrupt. If you sell an e-book to someone else, another entry will go into the block chain, which will remain there permanently.

In other words, block chains make the transfer of ownership safe and beyond the control of third parties afterwards. But there are other aspects of copyright, such as not sending copies to your friends or keeping copies of yourself after you transfer it. Therefore, digital copyright management is necessary. Files must be encrypted, and tokens are actually enhanced versions of license files used by most DRM systems to contain encryption keys and information about the use of rules. Starting block chains also requires the development of an API that allows existing and new application developers to read new formats.

Ultimately, the block chain e-book uses hash, which is completely customized for the people who buy it, in addition to the ISBN number. The hash is stored in a central server and can be read, but there is no personal information. It can also be stored in a single node, similar to encrypted currency. There is no real incentive for those hosting nodes, but libraries and booksellers may be willing to do so.

Block chains make real ownership of e-books possible, and if they become popular, a real second-hand e-book market may erupt. If I own an e-book with a dedicated hash file, I can transfer ownership to another person, and the server monitoring the hash file will recognize it.

epilogue

The main advantages of block chains are reducing middlemen, authorizing users, high-quality data, process integrity, transparency and preventing counterfeiting. Challenges include unclear regulatory status and the need for large-scale computing capabilities with strict security, privacy and control. This means that the cost is higher than other methods, which makes block chains an advanced option. But this high technology cost should be balanced with the commercial costs of piracy and copyright infringement, which may be astronomical. Content is valuable. Now is the time for publishers to protect it.

I think block chains are the best e-book encryption system. It is compact and portable, and can easily be replaced by an e-reader or e-book application. Like an electronic book with digital watermarks, users can load them on any device at will. It's quite possible that all these applications and e-readers may need an API to read the e-book format, but the e-book itself is simple and elegant.