Online Piracy

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, May, 2001 by Caroline Jenkins

Accessing and perhaps even repurposing a magazine's online information is a mere mouseclick away, threatening not just editorial value, but revenues as well. Here, FOLIO: asks five publishing executives just how worried they are about readers "stealing" their content.

John Gallant

President and Editorial Director, Network World Inc.

Network World is very concerned about online piracy--from both an editorial and business perspective. We want to control how our very valuable and insightful material is presented. We take great care on our Web site and choose our licensing partners very carefully to ensure this. We also want to protect our investment in content by making sure that people are not using it without authorization, which undermines our licensing business. It's very difficult, however, to police the use of our content. When we find or are notified by our loyal readership of violations in copyright, we respond immediately. But we're going to be looking to some new technologies that may help us cast wider protection over our content.

Ellen Pack

Founder, Women.com

As an Internet publisher, I don't worry too much about online piracy because Women.com has the legal resources to pursue anyone illegally using our material--which has actually happened on a couple of occasions. The people most vulnerable to online piracy are freelance journalists. The law is pretty clear that publishers do not automatically have the right to use contributors' content in another medium--in this case, the Internet. However, many have done so anyway. While I do not necessarily believe that authors should be paid on a per-use basis, they do deserve--and should demand--a contract that clearly outlines their rights. But more or even all rights don't guarantee more dollars for the author or the publisher in today's market.

Drew Schutte

Publisher, Wired

Online piracy is of tremendous importance to Wired and its readers. For the Internet to thrive as a business and consumer marketplace, it has to be built on trust. This trust will be earned by securing a magazine's content as it flows into the Internet, and by carefully handling the information [about the people] with whom that content is shared. If our customers or employees feel their personal information is not safe from hackers while it is in our possession, transactions will be held back and accurate data not provided. Either result is a setback preventing the Internet from becoming the thriving marketplace or global information network we all want it to be.

Travis Smith

Editor, Variety.com

Fifteen years ago, I traded pirated copies of the Donkey Kong video game on floppy disks with my friends at school. Somehow, Nintendo survived, and today I pay for the latest Mario adventure. Trading and online piracy is probably the greatest challenge facing Variety.com's industry--the entertainment business--today, but the question for us is not "how can we stop this?" Instead, it's "how can we take advantage of this?" Musicians, performers and producers make money by giving people something they can't get anywhere else--which is why concerts, movie theaters and other public productions will continue to be profitable, no matter how piracy grows. Companies must be ready for a shift in where the revenue comes from, and take advantage of new markets as well as new marketing opportunities. At the same time, there is a growing sense that content might not, in fact, always be free--and that will make unauthorized copying a little harder to justify in the minds of "weekend pirates."

Greg Zorthian

Senior Vice President, BusinessWeek Online

I'm concerned about online piracy for a number of reasons. The first and simplest reason is that it's illegal and strikes at the core of our business. Without copyright protection, anyone can steal the essence of what we are and the value we provide. Second, content on BusinessWeek Online drives readership, which drives ad revenues. If the content is posted elsewhere without our permission, it jeopardizes potential advertising opportunities based upon reader interest and demand. Plus, as we look at other sources of revenue, such as syndication fees, licensing fees or subscription revenue, the value of our editorial material is defined by its quality and scarcity. If we can't control its availability, we have lost control of its value. While it is fairly easy for magazines to police print piracy, it is significantly more difficult to do it on the Internet. The solution is content encryption, and it is on the way. Until then, I remain concerned.