Anti-piracy patent will not allow students to share textbooks

The purpose of the new patent, issued in the second week of June, is to prohibit students from sharing textbooks both offline and online. The patent was issued to Joseph Henry Vogel, an economics professor , who hopes to ensure a deeper penetration of the publishing world into the educational process. At his suggestion, students will be able to study a certain subject only after acquiring an online access code that allows them to use the textbook on this subject. Without an access code, their ratings will be lower, and all this is in the interests of science.

Over the centuries, students could transfer textbooks to each other, but a new patent is going to put an end to this familiar “violation.”

The patent was issued to Professor of Economics Joseph Henry Vogel . The professor believes that piracy, lending and resale of books threaten publishing.
')
“Teachers are increasingly condescending towards students who come to class with photocopied educational material. Some even support piracy by placing textbooks in library collections, from where they can be photocopied, ” writes Vogel.

As a result, publishers get less money, and professors like him have less opportunity to publish. However, Vogel's invention can stop this threat.

Its essence is simple. Part of the educational process will be the participation of students in the Internet discussion forum, and this activity will be counted as part of the final assessment. To access the forum, students will need special codes that they will receive when acquiring the appropriate textbook.

Students who do not pay will not be able to participate and therefore receive lower marks.

This system ensures that students cannot study subjects using locked textbooks, like tens of thousands of current students. You will not be able to borrow a book from the library, borrow from a friend, or buy a used one from an undergraduate. At least, it is impossible without the copyright holders to get their share.

Vogel's idea leaves students with the possibility of using second-hand textbooks, but students will still have to purchase access codes at a reduced price. This means that publishers will be able to profit several times from a book sold only once.

Needless to say, the publishers were pleased with the possibility of greater control over their studies. The Anthem Press publishing house in London has already expressed interest in the Vogel system, and Pat Schröder, president of the Association of American Book Publishers, also welcomes this idea.

“For every scam site we shut down, there are still a hundred people who are asking for the same thing. I can’t imagine a more relevant example of the need for additional tools, ” said Schröder.

Outwardly, this idea may seem well-intentioned, but to supporters of an open knowledge society, it seems to be acting in a completely wrong direction. What could something, and the Internet should simplify the access of students to knowledge, and not make it difficult or impossible.

The desire of publishers to stop piracy is quite understandable, but to forbid poor students to take a textbook from a library or from a friend means to go too far.

Perhaps it would be better to approach the problem from the opposite side.

Thanks to the Internet, there is no need for publishers. And since many textbook authors are professors who are paid by universities, it is not difficult to provide a more open system for publishing books.

Professor Vogel believes that the growth of publisher's income will help learning, but this line of reasoning may be erroneous. Is it much better to strive for openness and accessibility of knowledge rather than to limit access to them?