Helicon Books Announces Social DRM Solution

21.08.2013 Nate Hoffelder 2 Comments

There’s a new competitor in the digital watermark industry.

Helicon Books, an Israel-based tech company, recently announced that they are now offering their own Social DRM platform.

Details are still scarce on exactly how Helicon’s system works (this is the kind of thing no one wants to talk about), but based on the description on the Helicon website this sounds like a digital watermark platform similar to the one offered by Booxtream.

I don’t have specific info about Helicon’s platform. but I do know that most similar systems (Booxtream, for example) are set up to enable an ebookstore to add a serial number or other identifiable info to an ebook when it is downloaded by a customer. That info can be used to identify who initially bought the ebook should it ever show up on a pirate website.

Helicon’s DRM scheme will likely include embedding identifiable info in what they hope will be difficult to find places as well as an overt addition to the frontmatter of the ebook. The 2 lines of text on the left hand side of the screenshot show who purchased the ebook.

Helicon will be demoing their tech at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October, and more information can be found on their website.

Coincidentally, Helicon’s booth at Frankfurt Book Fair will be just a few aisles over from Booxtream, a Dutch company that offers a competing service. Booxtream currently provides digital watermark DRM to the Harry Potter ebookstore at Pottermore and to Dutch, German, and other publishers and ebookstores.