I agree with Dave. It is frustrating, but it seems that most of the time we videographers end up chalking it up to a contemporary job hazard that won't go away.

John

I wish I had the answer too. The only way I think is possible is to
create a program yourself and serve the encoded video from your
server.

Software can be reversed engineered so add some time limit routine.

Ken,
There is nothing.
Any encryption that is mainstream can and will be broken in a matter of seconds. If you could find one that can't, you'd be a very wealthy man.
There are methods of encapsulating your video in a PDF and locking the PDF to a serial number per disc. HUGE undertaking if you have lots of sales, and the cost of managing serials may well be greater than replication allows for.
Even then, if they want the data badly enough, they'll get it.

don't do downloadable, burn yourself with a watermark unique to each disc (or possibly client).

Lot of work but then you can track people down who stole it. But not worth it imho.

Put enough video on the disc that the pirates either have to use a dual layer disc or recompress it. Package it nicely with maybe a glossy book that is referenced on the cover so that people will miss it if it isn't there.

Don't waste your time with DRM. The chances are pretty good that when the pirates copied your work in the past, they did it with DRM busting software that they use whether or not the disc has a DRM scheme. If you had used DRM in the past, I doubt the copiers would have even noticed the difference.

There is a new philosophy in the world of music and video producers. This has been going on for over ten years, and presents a win/win situation for artists, producers, and consumers.

1. Put DRM in the trash can. iTunes has done so, RIAA has stopped prosecuting, and Sony rootkits are a thing of the past. This trend is not a bad thing, either for the big corporations or consumers, or else it would not have taken place.

2. Recognize that the more hands your works are in is an advantage to you, both karmacally (if I may coin such a term) and monetarily, if you are willing to wait for the results of your exposure to come home to roost.

3. Delayed gratification, as we were all taught in seventh grade, is a big payoff if we don't let our human impatience get in our way.

As an artist, producer, and consumer, I have seen the benefits of this approach first-hand.

Charge what it takes to cover your perceived losses, and enjoy the results.

Hi -

Thanks everyone, much appreciated re the comments. I'd contacted divx for example and they said it costs 15K upfront + 25% rev share(!) to drm-protect video content. I know there's other vendors out there, and some adult sites use DRM, but most customers complain about it.

It's a revenue issue because my videos are widely pirated and, though I can shut down ebay resales (eg since I sell dvd systems w/EULA/individually licensed), I can't stop bittorrents or craigslist or rapidshare/mediafire reposts; I like the idea of having a print binder that looks good (plus things like private new online webinars and support) that only registered users get access to, that's likely a positive direction as well.

Thanks very much for the comments - it helps.

-Ken

many people who pirate don't care about the extras. Plus, we all know this, you can easily recompress a video down to a single layer DVD with no issues.

It's not really important how many copies of your stuff you see out there being pirated, it's MORE important how many of your people who BUY decide to pirate. IE if I never intended to buy your videos you're not losing a sale to me if I pirate. Yeah, technically you could say you lost $300 (or whatever) because of my, but if I didn't have $300, it wouldn't matter, no sale. Could be I helped generated a few other sales via word of mouth, but you don't know. Could be price, whatever. But if Spot bought your videos & now pirates, that's bad. Perhaps try to find out why people would pirate your stuff. Some people may honestly think it's not something that is charged for. I've seen a ton of tutorial videos for FREE over the net for vegas, if I was looking for a downloadble version via bittorrent I wouldn't assume others I found were for charge (there's a few exceptions. I know the VASST & Sony stuff costs $$, but someone who doesn't hang around the forums might not).

But it sounds like your issue isn't piracy as it's classically though of (downloading a movie or song, for example), but that in your EULA you take away the right of first sale (hence the e-bay/craiglist thing?). That right there would stop me from buying something from someone unless it's something specifically tailored to me and MIGHT find a video on the 'net first to see how it is. but still could very well not get me to buy as I like the right of offloading things I don't want/need/use any more.

So doing the extra stuff will convince people who are buying your videos to keep buying and may bring some people who pirated on the legit path if they really like what they see & want the extras.

Hi - great points, I agree with all of them ... sounds like having the extras (webinars, print, other add-ons, private members' forum) is the way to go, and positioning the dvd/downloadable video as just half the product may be a partial solution.

Another idea I'm considering, is to actually refer to things like "be sure to see current updated tips and examples of (content) in your private members-only forum" 6-10 times on each DVD, either directly with voiceover, and/or a slide, so that people who watch pirated content/copied dvds, feel, correctly, that they're missing out on current, updated, important information related to the core subject matter on the dvd, which may encourage them to go buy a legit copy, so they get access to regular updates.

Regarding eulas, what I've found is that nowadays many top marketers are including "no resell" clauses in the terms of sale, because otherwise we find that people buy things with, in effect, the intent to just "rent" it, so to speak, eg they'll buy the $500 dvd system, watch (and likely copy) it, then resell it on ebay for $350 a week later, in effect buying it at a 75% discount, and then it gets resold by the next buyer and so on, til you see a bunch of copies for sale at $50 each two years later, and nobody buys from you directly since there's a huge resale market of used copies.

I resent people who buy my high-end systems, getting the knowledge and expertise contained therein, then promptly trying to resell it to recapture most of their money, that's ripping me off, and depriving me of revenue. It's not (exactly) the same as reselling tv show dvds, since those are mass marketed with hundreds of thousands of unit sales, vs merely hundreds of what I sell... though technically I believe no DVDs should be resold, as it's a license to view content that's being sold, not the physical media.

And then of course the one guy from Malaysia that buys it, refunds/charges it back, and copies/torrents/pirates it forever. I refuse to sell DVDs to anyone from Malaysia, Brazil, anywhere in Eastern Europe, China etc... so pirates have a tougher time getting source material.

So for that reason, too - having the raw dvds as just part of what they're getting (in addition to ongoing webinars, forum access, print binders that are tough to copy) is probably the best solution, for those of us who sell high-end and other dvds. It's certainly a critical issue for us dvd producers... for every piratebay torrent site that gets shut down, there'll be a dozen more that takes their place, so offering stuff that can't be copied (like webinars/forums) seems like a solution... ideas?

-ken

p.s. I've made 7 figures selling over 31 DVDs I've produced independently during the last 7+ years... so I have a vested interest in protecting my content, as it's my livelihood. (newest release at www.copywritingsuccess.com; bestseller at stocktradingsuccess.com )

Remember, Sony let's up re-sell Vegas after we update! Also kind of funny you linked to a video about copyright & the EULA says you can't resell it/disclose any info on it. In a way, that's like me selling a DVD on how to make $$, same EULA, and on the DVD I saw just make a DVD on how to make $$ & include the same EULA. just a creepy coincidence. :D But because of that EULA, I wouldn't buy it.

People can still scan the stuff if they wanted. It's easy. so that wouldn't stop people from getting it.

The website/forum is the best idea imho. Here's an idea: you buy the discs, free website included. The website access is tied to an order #. Then, in theory, if the disc was resold to someone else (IE like me who wouldn't pay that much $$), if I wanted web access I could pay a separate non-disc owner fee ($300 for example). Then, in theory, off 1 order you made ~$1400 vs ~$1100. and remember, the 2nd order had NO intention of buying, so I'm not a lost order.

Also remember that you're going to compete against other people who WILL do it cheaper. There's no reason I couldn't buy your DVD's, learn from them, make the $$ how you taught me, then make my OWN DVD's for 1/3rd the price (as long as I don't reference your DVD's from the EULA). Knowledge isn't copyrightable, only things are.

One model you might look into is Fairfield Language Technologies, the makers of Rosetta Stone. Sounds like a very similar business. Online access, printed materials, and $300 software packages

Thanks, good feedback. (and HappyFriar, you'd be right in a general sense re repackaging information, that happens all the time, it's the #1 way people sell info products, is just go study other people's stuff and then rehash/copy it -- the way to protect against that, is things like reputation, fame, market positioning, traffic/lead generation sources... eg I'd buy a golf video from Tiger Woods before I'd buy one from a lesser-known person, because of the track record/fame element, which is key re market positioning a la Trout/Reiss)... but your points are all valid and well taken.. makes sense!

Will look at Rosetta, thx re business model idea.

-k