Custos for eBooks is a unique, customer-friendly system for protecting digital media against piracy. It leverages Bitcoin and the blockchain to track infringements without inconveniencing or restricting honest customers in any way.

How do content owners protect downloads from piracy?

Piracy is a major challenge for content owners and therefore they generally use various forms of DRM (Digital Rights Management) to protect downloaded files from being copied and shared. However, there is a growing resentment amongst customers against widely used DRM systems due to the negative impact they have on legitimate usage:

  • Inconvenient – They make it more difficult for customers to install and view their content, often requiring additional accounts, registration processes and proprietary software.
  • Restricted – In attempting to stop illegitimate use, they limit the freedom of customers by also restricting legitimate use such as being tied to specific devices and applications.
  • Unfair – Honest customers can lose access to their purchases if the provider of a proprietary DRM system goes out of business or discontinues it. Even eBooks bought from large retailers are not safe as customers can have their access retracted at a later date.

How does Custos work?

Instead of requiring a proprietary viewing application and file format, Custos embeds imperceptible Bitcoin bounties in widely used, open file formats. This means that they can be read by any compatible viewing application without any restrictions. The bounties take the form of a Bitcoin private key and can be extracted by bounty hunters if a file is pirated. This provides content owners with an effective means of monitoring and disincentivising major infringements without affecting legitimate usage in any way.

 Why is this better for our customers?

  • User friendly – No proprietary software needs to be installed for the purposes of enabling DRM and there are no additional registration steps or user accounts required.
  • Flexible – You’re free to enjoy your content on your choice of device and applications without any restrictions.
  • Peace of mind – Even if the retailer you purchased from was to become defunct or the Custos system were to be discontinued, you wouldn’t lose access to your files as there are a number of alternative applications which you can use to view them.

How does this impact me?

The system is designed to have no impact on legitimate use of purchased content. Therefore, if you’re planning on using your content for your personal use in accordance with our terms and conditions, there is nothing to worry about. The system is primarily intended to monitor and prevent large-scale piracy via download sites and other means.

I have further questions

Please feel free to contact us should you have any further questions.