Separation of electronic and paper copyrights e-book industry to be developed

As Hanwang started the e-book reader's first shot with the “electronic paper book”, other domestic electronics manufacturers flocked. Immediately afterwards, issues concerning the content and copyright of the e-books followed. How to integrate the content resources of e-book readers and solve the plight of lack of content has become a hot issue for the industry.

Report by reporter Lu Xiaohui

In 2010, it was called the first year of the e-book by the industry. Hanwang became the first company in the field of e-book readers to dare to eat crabs. As the Hanwang started the e-book reader's first shot with the “E-paper Book”, other domestic electronics manufacturers flocked to it. Immediately, the contents of the e-book, copyright, and other issues followed. How to integrate the content resources of e-book readers and solve the problem of scarcity of content resources has become a hot topic of discussion among industry players in the OPOB (One-person, One-Book Plan) e-book peak held recently.

Separation of electronic and paper copyrights

Content is undoubtedly the most concerned issue for companies in the e-book industry chain.

"In the long run, the e-book industry chain is definitely the content of the king." CEO of Shengda Literature Hou Xiaoqiang made the above judgment on the direction of market development. Han Ying Technology Co. Chairman Liu Yingjian also expressed the same point of view: "Content is the most concerned about Hanwang."

Liu Yingjian said: “We are now signing a strategic agreement with a publishing house. At present, the enthusiasm within the publishing house is higher than we think because it is related to their future jobs. They are more anxious than us.”

Although the enthusiasm of publishers is relatively high, e-book reader companies have found in the process of obtaining copyright that due to the existence of some institutional defects, it has become more difficult for e-book companies to obtain content.

Liu Yingjian stated that the domestic copyright signing is not the same as in Western countries. Once a Western country's author has signed a contract with the publisher, its copyright in paper books and digital copyright are not separated. They are common to both publishers and authors; while copyrights and copyrights of domestic paper books are separated from digital copyrights, some well-known writers do not include digital copyrights. To publishers, therefore, publishers do not have control over digital content copyrights.

Experts believe that in the future, the copyright concept of Western countries should be introduced. Copyright is the result of the joint efforts of the author and publisher. Paper copyright and digital copyright should be the same.

Li Xiaohui, general manager of DeDiou, said: “When we communicate with our customers, many people have suggested that the content of e-book readers is relatively lacking. Actually, there are various contents in the industry, but there are two problems: First, The existing content operators are fighting each other and their content is severely fragmented. The resources of various companies are relatively small. Second, China does not have a sufficiently powerful content provider so that everyone can obtain content.

Increase the number of users

In addition, the number of e-book reader users is also the key to the development of the content industry.

In the eyes of the industry, 10 million users have become a watershed in the development of the industry. Below this number of users, the industry will hold back. At present, the number of e-book reader users in China has just entered the million level.

Hou Xiaoqiang of Shanda Literature used its starting point Chinese Network as an example to illustrate the watershed role of 10 million users. "When the site was just commercialized, there were only tens of thousands of users per day. At that time it was a loss. But now it is slowly approaching profitability. What is the scale at this time? Every day, there are 11 million users. So the number of users is up to 1 When it's 10 million yuan, relying on content should be profitable."

Hu Yanping, general manager of the DCCI Internet Data Center, also believes: “If the market for e-book readers is to be used as a terminal for millions of users, only ten million users will be an industry.”

Only content can make the e-book industry leap 10 times. This view has been unanimously recognized by practitioners in the industry. Hou Xiaoqiang said that the writer of Shanda Literature now has five or six million yuan in the highest income year, and nearly 100 people who have received more than 100,000 yuan. This was achieved after 10 years. Ten years from free to charge, from hobbies and interests to professional writers, from zero income to current annual income of nearly ten million yuan, this requires a process. "E-book is also true, it depends on the genuine awareness of users, the e-book industry content market refining."

Wang Fang, director of iResearch Consulting, said that the market space for e-books is very large and the content will hold up the development of the entire industry. Wang Fang also mentioned that the development of the e-book industry and the close cooperation between industries are critical. “From the perspective of the success of the iPad, the e-book industry’s future mentality of success should be more open, cooperation and win-win, and the advantages of every one of them. ."

Planning to leapfrog development

Looking at the future of e-books, some highly productive writers have begun to accept e-books and join them. Liang Fengyi said: "I have been engaged in writing for many years, but over the years only involved in the traditional publishing field. At present, from the perspective of international and domestic publishing trends, digital publishing is developing rapidly. E-books are an important direction for future book publishing."

“The development of an industry is inseparable from the continuous and reliable profit model. It is also inseparable from the common support of content providers and platform service providers,” said Liu Binjie, Director of the General Administration of Press and Publication.

At the 17th Beijing International Book Exposition held recently, the company announced that the famous writer Liang Fengyi’s exclusive E bookstore was settled in the company's sweet potato network, and Liang Fengyi’s one hundred outstanding works were digitized. An exclusive e-bookstore “Fengyi study room” was opened in the company's sweet potato network.

Experts stated that direct contracting with well-known and high-yield writers is an in-depth cooperation and innovation attempt in the form of e-book business platform services. The adoption of the brand-new reading and consumption model of "Celebrity Electronic Bookstore" by the sweet potato network reduced the consumption threshold of genuine electronic books and promoted the sound development process of domestic genuine electronic books.

What is the future of e-books?

The industry's unanimous answer is: short-term terminal, medium-term content, long-term platform. It can be seen that the construction of the platform is the key to the future development of the e-book industry, and it is also the resource that e-book industry chain companies have dreamed of mastering. At present, Shanda Literature has already taken the lead. It is reported that currently, Hanwang Technology and other companies have obtained only the issuance qualifications, and Shanda Literature has obtained the qualification for publication.

With the qualifications of publishing, build an online platform similar to Apple’s software store, mobilize social resources for content creation, attract social content resources into their own cloud bookstores, and then master the future content platform. This may be the magnificence of Shanda Literature. seek.

Hou Xiaoqiang said: "Cloud Book City is an open logic, in the future each publisher can freely access our bookstore in the cloud, free brand, independent pricing, free sales. It is an APP model, that is to say as long as you have the content , you can access the bookstore in the cloud, not only on the PC, mobile phone, but also on the e-book reader.

Hou Xiaoqiang said that the establishment of a cloud bookstore in Shanda Literature is not an exclusive or monopoly for Shanda Literature. The logic of the Internet is open and shared. “We share with everyone, grow together, and bear the burden together. Only in this way can Yunzhong Book City do it. To be even bigger, everyone will be able to make money in the future.” It is reported that the Hanwang will sign the bookstore in the cloud of Shanda Literature in the near future to achieve resource sharing and industry advancement.