imageSo when will Amazon switch over to ePub for the Kindle and Mobipocket software, and also abandon DRM lock-ins? Fat chance—at least without pressure from the rest of the book industry.

But then do mere publishers count anyway? Remember, Amazon wants vertical integration in the Standard Oil tradition, even at the expense of its suppliers: publishing houses.

An alarum from O’Reilly Media

imageCheck out Publishers beware, Amazon has you in their sights, a post from Tim O’Reilly (photo), who says, “Amazon has, so far, created huge value for the publishing ecosystem. Now, as they become more powerful, they need to be especially watchful that they don’t irreparably damage an industry on which they too depend.”  Publishers aren’t the only ones taking notices. So is the library world as shown by items in LISNews and Jessamyn West’s blog.

Suspicious inconsistency

I just hope people will connect the dots. There is a reason, as I see it, why Jeff Bezos favors nonDRMed music (as part of his war with Apple) but not unshackled books (given Amazon’s investment in the Kindle and Mobipocket). DRM is a politer electronic version of the lawyers and thugs that the old Rockefeller interests used against competitors. Meanwhile, in the POD area, aren’t Jeff’s humans bullying clients on the phone?

And one way you can help

If you have things to say, whether e-book- or POD-related, why not catch up with the Washington State Attorney Genera’s officel?

One way Jeff could help show some good faith in the e-book realm: Why not give publishers a chance of not DRMing their books? Still, the ultimate solution is to work toward no DRM or at least just social DRM.

And a suggestion for librarians and publishers alike: Work toward a reduction of dependence on DRM. I still am hoping to get that post up later today or later this week.

Plus an idea for the U.S. Justice Department: While I’m not a lawyer and am not accusing Bezos of anti-trust violations, I do hope that Justice will study his use of compulsory DRM and proprietary formats as lock-in mechanisms.

Related: More on the Amazon/Booksurge issue, in LISNews—plus a TeleBlog item, Amazon’s publisher lock-ins: Four ways listed by O’Reilly publishing expert. See his original post here.

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