ARCHIVAL CONCERNS AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Michael Kelly points out another unique issue that is at the center of E-book and other digital content ownership. This issue is preservation. In his article, he discusses the issues of e-book preservation and how the non-ownership model can create restrictions that make preservation challenging

Because the content is now owned, by consumers or libraries, changes to the content can be made without warning and original copies become lost. Books can even be deleted, leaving the users library never to be downloaded again.

As pointed out by other researchers, there is a lack of standardization in both the concept of ownership with e-books, and e- books themselves. E-book format is also not standardized, with some formats unable to be read of certain devices, causing further issues around preservation.

Perzanowski and Schultz argue for a shift in language to more accurately represent what the reality of “buying” digital content is. This would hopefully communicate to consumers more clearly the restrictions that exist on digital material.

They also argue “limitations imposed by DRM remain a major barrier to owners’ control over their property. DRM can constrain how owners use digital media and software embedded devices in ways that were impossible in the predigital era. Looking at the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA nearly twenty years after their creation, we see them as a major policy misstep. They have stifled innovation and competition, fragmented markets, impeded research, stymied educators, and compromised security.” (Perzanowski, 2016).

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“Redesigning marketing practices by creating multiple tiers of usage– ranging from strictly access to full ownership– may create more alignable expectations for consumers surrounding their digital products.” (Helm, 2018)

Xiaohua Zhu, in his research, found that many consumers would be willing to pay more for certain ownership rights like permanent access, the ability to read on any device, and unlimited number of uses. (Zhu, 2023)

Zhu also agrees with other researchers that language about digital content ownership is confusing and creates dissatisfaction for the consumers. He presents an argument for terms like renting or licensing over buying when it comes to the distributions of digital content.

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