I saw an article this morning that Elaine Scott, a children’s book author, is suing Scribd, the document sharing site, over the unauthorized distribution of her book. The issue brings up an interesting point of view that many of these sites, such as Scribd, docstoc, Yudu and Issuu, have about distributing copyrighted material without the owners permission.

I’ve asked execs from these companies how they police the uploading of unauthorized works on their sites. The answers have all been “We don’t. If anyone sees their work up there without permission and asks us to remove it, we will.”

Does having a policy of removing the offending publications after the fact constitute a viable policy or as the idiom goes “closing the barn door after the horse has bolted”?

Tags: Industry News by Pierre Bisaillon
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In this article from Folio, Rodale has launched a newsstand-only magazine. When you stop and think about it, this is a great example of a new product with limited availability built in. It wins on a number of levels – it’s out of the norm for the publishing business and will therefore get much press, Rodale knows exactly how much they will generate with each copy and distribution is far cheaper.

This same concept could easily be replicated in a digital edition. Why not add unique content to your digital edition that is only available to those who register while those who don’t see the edition without added content. Create two digital editions, one is a premium offering based on the publisher receiving something of value and the standard edition which of course promotes the digital edition.

I’ve yet to actually see this implemented but will reach out to Mygazines’ clients with the idea and update this post with any examples.

Tags: Industry News, Marketing by Pierre Bisaillon
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