The sale of print books over the Internet can be
conceptualized as the continuation of mail order catalogues by
virtual means. But e-books are different. They are detrimental
to all these cosy arrangements. Legally, an e-book may not be
considered to constitute a "book" at all. Existing contracts
between authors and publishers may not cover e-books. The
serious price competition they offer to more traditional forms
of publishing may end up pushing the whole industry to re-
define itself. Rights may have to be re-assigned, revenues re-
distributed, contractual relationships re-thought. Moreover,
e-books have hitherto been to print books what paperbacks are
to hardcovers - re-formatted renditions. But more and more
authors are publishing their books primarily or exclusively as
e-books. E-books thus threaten hardcovers and paperbacks
alike. They are not merely a new format. They are a new mode
of publishing.
Every technological innovation was bitterly resisted by
Luddite printers and publishers: stereotyping, the iron press,
the application of steam power, mechanical typecasting and
typesetting, new methods of reproducing illustrations, cloth
bindings, machine-made paper, ready-bound books, paperbacks,
book clubs, and book tokens.
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