AAP, Microsoft Announce Ebook Anti-Piracy Initiative

Posted on August 9, 2000

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) and Microsoft Corp. have announced plans to work in close collaboration on an educational and enforcement initiative to fight ebook piracy. Microsoft, which is a member of the AAP, is contributing technology resources, including new technology to identify illegal content on the Internet, and will provide a significant financial endowment.

The initiative will include an educational website that can be found initially at http://microsoft.com/piracy/epub/ but that will eventually become part of the AAP website. AAP will coordinate the programs and within a year will establish a new committee to oversee education and enforcement efforts. At the outset, the advisory board of the new group will be Pat Schroeder, president and CEO of AAP, and Dick Brass, vice president of Technology Development at Microsoft.

The joint effort will focus on three areas: education, encryption and enforcement. AAP will undertake a broad educational effort to raise public awareness of the value of protecting ebooks and other copyrighted electronic material. With the support of Microsoft, AAP will implement programs and services to educate the public, identify copyright violations, notify the appropriate intellectual property owners of violations, and form appropriate partnerships with law-enforcement agencies.

``AAP is delighted to join with Microsoft in this effort that will benefit all the players in the exciting ebook market, including publishers, authors, retailers and consumers,'' Schroeder said. ``Intellectual property is the fastest-growing segment of our economy and our most precious commodity in the global marketplace. What we're really talking about protecting are American jobs and American creativity.''

``With our 25 years of experience in protecting digitized products, we at Microsoft know that piracy is a perpetual challenge that will always require a multifaceted strategy,'' Brass said. ``Piracy is not a question of 'if' but rather 'when.' No technology is immune to it. The key is having a comprehensive plan in place to counter it at every level and minimize the threat.''

The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP's approximately 250 members include most of the major commercial book publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and nonprofit publishers, university presses, and scholarly societies. The protection of intellectual property rights in all media is among AAP's highest priorities.