The next e-book you buy might not exactly match the printed version. And those changes are there to make sure you’re not a pirate.

German researchers have created a new DRM feature that changes the text and punctuation of an e-book ever so slightly. Called SiDiM, which Google translates to “secure documents by individual marking,” the changes are unique to each e-book sold. These alterations serve as a digital watermark that can be used to track books that have had any other DRM layers stripped out of them before being shared online. The researchers are hoping the new DRM feature will curb digital piracy by simply making consumers paranoid that they’ll be caught if they share an e-book illicitly.

via New DRM Will Change the Words in Your E-Book | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

It will be interesting to see if those publishers who have recently moved to open access on ebooks reverse their stance due to this new technology. I’m sure libraries will be having many discussions about the implications of this new technology on ebook lending and relationships with publishers.

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Digital Rights Management (DRM) & Libraries | American Library Association