How to protect ebooks from sharing & piracy with DRM
How to protect ebooks from sharing with Safeguard PDF security
To protect a PDF ebook
In Safeguard Secure PDF Writer, choose the ebook protection options:
- Stop printing, allow printing, or limit the number of prints.
- Add dynamic watermarks that are permanent, to viewed and or printed pages. Dynamic variables replace actual user and system data when the document is viewed/printed so you only have to protect the document once for all users. By using watermarks you can discourage users from photocopying and distributing printed copies.
- Decide whether you want to make the ebook expire on a specific date, after a number of views, after a number of prints, or after a number of days from opening. You might want to make an ebook expire if you want to provide a sample for a limited period of time.
- Block screen shots and prevent screen grabbing.
- Allow or deny offline use. In most circumstances you probably want to allow users to view ebooks without having to be connected to the Internet. You can however enforce a connection after a certain number of days and then never again so that if a chargeback is made you can instantly revoke access.
Safeguard’s default ebook protection
- Stops users sharing ebooks, editing, copying and pasting content
- Locks ebooks to machines or devices so they cannot be shared
- There are no passwords for users to enter, manage, or remove
- Revoke ebooks at any time regardless of their location
![]() |
Ebook Protection and DRM security |
Use ebook DRM software to protect ebooks from sharing & theft
What is e-book protection & ebook copy protection?
Ebook protection or ebook copy protection, is the applying of security controls to an ebook to produce a result consistent with the needs of the ebook publisher – such as who is entitled to use the ebook, and whether they can transform it, copy it, obtain printed copies, etc.
Ebook protection enables Publishers to protect e-books against unauthorized distribution and use (stop sharing & copying), preventing revenue loss while still enabling authorized use.
Items to consider when choosing e-book protection software
There are many issues to consider (see below) when protecting ebooks. DRM is an essential addition for ebook protection.
- Copying & distribution. If someone purchases an ebook, they feel that it should be theirs to keep to do what they like with. A physical copy is quite different to a digital copy due the fact that an identical copy can be easily produced and quickly distributed. There is no need for the photocopier and the use of the postal system when you are dealing with digital e-books – a simple file copy and email distribution or uploading to a web site will do. E-book publishers want to protect their IPR and prevent loss of revenue by stopping ebook sharing (unauthorized distribution) and copying, however attractive they are to the purchaser.
- Licensing authorized devices. You need to address on how many devices should an e-book be allowed to be installed on. An e-book publisher might argue that one is enough – just the same as if a person had purchased a single copy of a physical book. A user would argue they need to use it on several devices. Good e-book protection systems use DRM to allow you to specify the number of devices the e-book can be used on.
- Offline use. When a person purchases an e-book they don’t want to have to be connected to the Internet to view it (just like a physical book). It is important that the e-book protection system is capable of allowing permanent offline use. More sophisticated DRM based e-book protection systems should let e-book publishers specify a one time connection after so many days use so that they have the ability to revoke access if a chargeback is made. Also, they should have the option to connect to the Internet for licensing if it is available.
- Printing. Just because someone has purchased an e-book, that does not mean they have the right to produce a hard copy of it as well. If printing is to be allowed then you might want to consider the use of dynamic watermarks (user information is added at the time of printing). This is to provide another layer of e-book protection – most people don’t want to have their names associated with copies that have been unlawfully distributed.
- Portability & Security. The ebook format you decide upon is equally important – what file format do you have to convert to and do you get the same results on different devices? While both Amazon (Kindle, .azw) and Adobe (epub) have their own popular proprietary e-book formats they have both been broken – type in Kindle .azw crack or epub crack into Google and you will find quite a few websites dedicated to this task. So as an ebook publisher you might want to wonder what e-book protection you are actually getting. Locklizard works with PDF files since they provide consistent rendering across a variety of platforms and devices, and we use our own Viewers so we don’t have to rely on the Adobe security handler (security through obscurity) for protection of e-books.
- Fixed locations. This is a more sophisticated DRM control that only allows the e-book to be used from a specific location (IP address or range) which might be a library, a school, or a country and so on. This allows a publisher to manage access to e-books much more flexibly.
- Dynamic watermarks. There are many ebook DRM systems that claim to watermark ebooks dynamically with user information. However, often these are just standard PDF watermarks that can be easily removed using any PDF editor. If you want to add watermarks to a PDF ebook then you need to make sure they cannot be easily removed.
- Managing expectations. A digital ebook does not cost the same to produce or distribute (in both time and physical shipping costs) as a physical copy (paper or hardback). So e-book publishers can charge less and manage customer expectations of use (what limitations there are on copying, printing, use on additional devices, etc.) to justify lower prices than physical copies.
DRM provides an essential series of licensing measures in ebook protection which extend the ability of the publisher to publish safely when distributing ebooks in the digital marketplace.
Download e-book protection software – protect ebooks from sharing
Copy Protect e-books with Locklizard ebook PDF DRM software – sell ebooks securely, stop piracy & theft
Download ebook protection software to copy protect ebooks published in PDF format and protect them from sharing by stopping unauthorized distribution.
Locklizard uses US Government strength encryption (AES) and digital rights management controls to prevent unauthorized access, sharing and misuse of your ebooks. With Locklizard ebook DRM software you can control who can view your ebooks, what they can do with them (copy, print, etc.) and when they can no longer be viewed (expire).
Locklizard uses encryption, DRM and licensing controls for complete copy protection of your ebooks. Our ebook protection software stops unauthorized distribution of your ebooks and lets you revoke access to your protected ebooks if you feel they are being misused.
Read our customer testimonials and case studies to see why thousands of organizations use Locklizard PDF security to securely sell ebooks, protect ebooks from sharing, and stop ebook piracy & theft.