Aaaaargh: book pirates gaining ground
A New York Times article looks at the growing number of readers downloading pirated book titles from news groups, peer-to-peer networks, and chat rooms. The article quotes a British research firm that estimates that between 25,000 to 30,000 pirated book titles are now available for free on the Web. However, the consensus among American booksellers seems to be that the process of downloading and printing an entire book (or reading it onscreen) is still too cumbersome to threaten their bottom lines, though they are closely monitoring the situation. More problematic, say publishers, is the ongoing loss of revenue to pirated textbooks.
Related links:
New York Times article
