How to Protect ePub from Copying: Secure Your Digital Masterpiece!

As digitization increases, the number of cybercrimes continues to rise, posing a serious threat to authors’ intellectual property rights. ePUB piracy, theft, and illegal distribution can cause authors and publishers to incur massive revenue losses and raise questions about the authenticity of their work. 

With these crimes becoming a pressing concern in today’s age, there is a growing need for the implementation of stringent security measures.

As a result, digital textbook platforms like KITABOO are swiftly coming up with measures to prevent ePUB copying. This platform not only implements DRM (Digital Rights Management) solutions but also utilizes encryption techniques to safeguard ePUB files from unauthorized copying and distribution. 

Table of Contents:

I. How to Protect ePUB from Copying: Implement These Security Measures

II. Benefits of Using Security Measures

III. Final Words

How to Protect ePUB from Copying: Implement These Security Measures

Creating and publishing an ePUB after some serious toiling only to have the digital file fall prey to online piracy can feel extremely frustrating and humiliating. To safeguard against this and prevent a sense of helplessness, it’s necessary to implement strong security measures such as DRM, password protection, and more.

Let’s explore these measures one by one:

1. DRM

DRM stands for digital rights management. DRM utilizes technological measures to shield your ePUB content from illegal use and copying. These technological measures include: 

  1. Access Control: DRM empowers you to devise and enforce access control measures for ePUB content. These measures enable you to set a time limit, allowing access to ePUB files only for a specified period of time. They also enable you to set a limit for the number of times authorized people can view or print your ePUB files. 
  2. Licensing: DRM gives you the power to create and issue licensing keys. This measure helps you further control access to ePUB files. When a person requests permission for an ePUB file, you can check the person’s authentication status. If it checks out, you can grant permission to the person by issuing licensing keys. 
  3. Encryption: Employing smart algorithms, DRM adds a protective layer to the content of your ePUB files by encrypting them. Only authorized people with proper decryption keys can now decode and access the content of your ePUB files. Encryption of eBooks enables you to prevent illegal use of your content. 
  4. Watermarking: Watermarks act as digital tracers. They can be visible or invisible and contain details about the author, publisher, and user. If a user accesses an ePUB file without authorization, watermarks help you track the details and the identity of the user. Watermarks provide evidence of illegal or unauthorized usage and support you in taking legal action against the user. 

2. Password Protection

You can enable password protection for your ePUB files. When a person purchases your ePUB, you can mail the person the passcode for exploring the file. Password protection helps you restrict access to the ePUB’s content to legitimate users. It ensures that unauthorized people who don’t have the password can’t access your ePUB files.

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3. Editing Restrictions

You can enforce restrictions on editing for your ePUB files. Editing restrictions prevent people from editing and copying the content, both text and media content, of your ePUB files. This measure ensures that people cannot illegally copy, alter, or make any changes to your work and present it as their own creation. 

4. Google Alerts

Google continuously monitors the web space. Leveraging this, you can take statements from your files and create Google alerts.

Google Alerts will notify you whenever those statements or a paragraph from your ePUB files end up on the internet without your permission. Thus, setting up Google alerts will enable you to take swift legal action against the person and prevent further copying of your work. 

Add an official copyright notice at the beginning of your ePUB file to make people aware of the fact that the work is your intellectual property. An official copyright notice warns people against copying your work and gives you the impetus to sue them for copyright infringement if they don’t heed the warning. 

6. DMCA Takedown Notice

DMCA is the short form for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If you come across unlicensed copies of your work posted online, you can file a DMCA takedown notice.

DMCA will contact the person or company hosting the website and alert them of copyright infringement. If the unauthorized party doesn’t remove your work, DMCA then has further authority to step in and ensure that your work from the party’s website or the entire website gets taken down. 

Benefits of Using Security Measures

Besides combating online piracy and safeguarding the authenticity of your ePUB files, using these security measures has a number of other benefits, such as:

1. Protects Your IPR

Your work is legally your intellectual property. By employing the above security measures, you can safeguard your intellectual property rights (IPR). Security measures add an extra protective layer to your content and make it difficult for unauthorized users to copy or share it illegally. 

2. Ensures Regulatory Compliance

You need to meet the rules and regulations set by the international regulatory guidelines before you can publish an ePUB file. Using security measures such as DRM and password protection, you can cut through the hassle, meet the standards required by the guidelines with ease, and ensure the legal distribution of your ePUB files. 

3. Safeguards Your Revenue

Whenever people access or share your ePUB files illegally, you lose out on your much-deserved revenue.

If this problem goes unresolved, you can incur massive amounts of losses in the long run. In such a scenario, utilizing security measures provides a quick and long-term solution to protecting your ePUB files from falling into the wrong hands and thus helps to safeguard your revenue and profits.

Final Words

In today’s digital age, crimes such as online piracy, theft, and more pose a threat to the security of ePUB files. Security measures like DRM software, password-protected ePUB files, Google alerts, editing restrictions, and more can combat these threats. 

While implementing these security measures is essential, it can often be a time-consuming process. That’s why it’s a great idea to outsource and use platforms like KITABOO, which can expedite the process of implementing DRM solutions

Digital textbook platforms like KITABOO offer custom DRM for ePUB solutions. You can tailor these solutions to meet your security needs, protect your ePUB files against piracy, and, at the same time, deliver an engaging reading experience to your readers. 

To learn more about DRM solutions, connect with us now!

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Mike Harman

Mike Harman

Mike is the SVP Business Development at KITABOO. He has over 30 years experience in achieving consistent top-line revenue growth and building mutually beneficial relationships. More posts by Mike Harman