Good question, RocketMan: I don't know the answers (NY Stew will set us straight), but here are some starting points:
1. The text is copyrighted, but that's only the starting point of IPR for authors--
2. Copyright protects the work against infringement/unauthorized use of a private work as well as a published work. As in books in paper format, the e-book is a form of publication, and as in a Simon & Schuster, Random House etc., there must be an agreement between the author and the publisher and the medium--I believe that e-books will share in the royalties/revenue stream due the publishers, but it will be more complicated than the current paper publisher/author arrangement.
Just as publishers with wider distribution capability command better deals and can offer better deals, my guess is that as e-books, and particularly Rocket and Novo gain market share, they may become preferred vehicles in this e-publishing space.
3. I agree with you that the reader itself is probably hard to patent; still, there might be patentable or protected aspects of the user interface and how that is coupled with some of the features mentioned in the Thompson release. This will be a function of marketing as well as true appeal to consumer perception of convenience and functionality.
4. As in the IPG and EPG, perhaps there are tricks as to the formatting of electronic books for the reader--I'm merely guessing here.
I'm sure there is more I'm not smart enough to figure out.
FWIW, Steve |
