They fret that traditional sales models don't work, and technologies like e-books seem to give away their treasures. Only by satisfying consumers can book publishers stay competitive as the industry moves online, advises Seth Greenstein, counsel for the Digital Media Association. Greenstein addressed executives at the Association of American Publishers meeting in Washington this week. The Digital Media Association is an organization of 30 media companies formed to educate government policy makers about digital industry issues. The only way you're going to be able to sell is by being the most convenient for the consumer.
Consumers expect user flexibility, like being able to archive the material and transfer ownership.
As Napster showed, if your book were a song and you haven't built a content system for it, someone else will come and take the business away, he added. To satisfy music listeners' appetites, licensing agreements in the digital world must be updated, he added. Mark Seeley, a vice president of the publishing company Elsevier Science, said changes in law mirroring changes in technology is not a new phenomenon. He observed that a pattern of litigation and discussion is emerging, which shows a major divergence between consumers and industries. It's not necessarily a friendly divergence, observed Julia Cohen, an associate professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center.