Ebook Standards

E-book Standards

Presentation Created By Scott Lowe. http://www.publishingbits.com

Definitions: Proprietary vs. Open Standards

• Standard: A set of rules and/or requirements governing how data is stored and transferred.

• Proprietary Standard: A standard that is exclusively owned by an individual or organization, the use of which generally would require a license and/or fee.

• Can be licensed for others to use or kept completely private.

• Open Standard: A standard that is publicly available and has various rights to use associated with it.

http://www.acq.osd.mil/osjtf/termsdef.htmlen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_standard

http://www.acq.osd.mil/osjtf/termsdef.html


Architecture of the E-book Market

Connectivity Capabilities

Content Aggregation & Distribution

Digital Rights Management

Dedicated Device Additional Software

Content Creation

Consumer

Content Editing, Marketing, Etc.

Current Market Capabilities

New Market Capabilities


Sony vs. Amazon

• Sony eReader launches in fall 2006.

• Amazon Kindle launches in fall 2007.

• Both use proprietary, private file formats and digital rights management (DRM) technology.

• Why?http://www.slate.com/id/2151525 http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/19/live-from-the-amazon-kindle-launch-event/

http://www.acq.osd.mil/osjtf/termsdef.html

http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/19/live-from-the-amazon-kindle-launch-event/


Proprietary Standards: User Experience




Dedicated Device Additional Software

Content Creation

Consumer


Proprietary standards enable more effective vertical integration with better control over the user experience.

Better control improves chances for market adoption.


Proprietary Standards: Lock-in

• With proprietary standards, it is difficult for consumers to leave your platform.

• Content purchased for a Sony eReader is accessible only on Sony devices.

• Strategy: Invest in new customers in order to make the platform more attractive to publishers. More publishers (i.e., more books) attracts even more customers.


Proprietary vs. Proprietary

• Proprietary, private standards enable and reward growth, making it difficult for smaller companies to compete.

• In early 2009, Amazon was growing its Kindle user base while Sony’s was lagging far behind.


Any Downside?

In competing to become the standard, or at least to achieve critical mass, consumer expectations are critical. In a very real sense, the product that is expected to become the standard will become the standard. . . . As a result, companies participating in markets with strong network effects seek to convince customers that their products will ultimately become the standard, while rival, incompatible products will soon be orphaned.

--Hal Varian and Carl Shapiro, Information Rules


How to Fight Amazon: Sony’s Strategy• Embrace open standards in order

to:

• Modularize the market

• Eliminate winner-take-all market dynamics

• Sony announcement in 2009 of its intention to abandon its BBEB file format and instead sell ePub content wrapped in Adobe DRM.

• ePub is an open standard.

• Adobe DRM is a proprietary, but licensed standard.

New


Sony’s Strategy: Modularized MarketNew


Sony’s ePub Logic

• An increase in the size of the new, open platform will offset the decrease in the company’s share of that platform.

• Take a smaller piece out of a (hopefully) much larger pie.


Apple iPad: iBooks

• Impact is far from clear:

• Announced support for ePub but no word on DRM technology.

• iPad will support other e-book apps, including Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble.


Apple iPad: iBooks

• Impact is far from clear:

• Announced support for ePub but no word on DRM technology.

• iPad will support other e-book apps, including Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble.




Device Additional Software

Content Creation

Consumer


Ebook Standards

Technology

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