Fantasy and Sci-fi publisher Tor says it has seen “no discernible increase in piracy” despite dropping Digital Rights Management (DRM) from its ebook range last year.
DRM prevents the unauthorised copying of digital content such as ebooks, but also limits the user’s ability to legitimately move content between devices.
Last April the UK and US arms of the Pan Macmillan imprint announced it would drop DRM due to its unpopularity with readers and authors.
At the time it said: “We believe that making our Tor ebooks DRM-free is the best for our readers, allowing you to use legitimately-purchased ebooks in perfectly legal ways, like moving your library from one ereader to another.”
In a new blog post marking Tor’s first anniversary as a DRM-free publisher, UK Editorial Director Julie Crisp said the company had seen “no discernible increase in piracy” of its titles.
Crisp paid tribute to Tor’s authors for being “incredibly supportive” of the initiative which she said had been welcomed by readers.
She added: “The move has been a hugely positive one for us, it’s helped establish Tor as an imprint that listens to its readers and authors when they approach us with a mutual concern – and for that we’ve gained an amazing amount of support and loyalty from the community.”
