Effect of changing permissions on existing ebook customers

[EmondMontgomery]

Hi:

Perhaps this question has been asked before -- I couldn't see that it had.

We are considering changing (widening) permissions on ebooks already in our store. What happens in the following scenario to Customer A?

Day 1, Customer A buys an ebook from our store, downloads it to his computer, and reads it in Adobe Digital Editions. The ebook is limited to one device for one year.

Day 2, we decide to widen permissions on the ebook to six devices with no expiry. We change the ebook's permissions via the ACS Console and update our store inventory with an updated XML catalogue (books.xml).

Day 3, Customer A tries to read his ebook. Customer B buys the same ebook from our store, downloads it, and transfers it to a mobile device.

Can Customer A open his ebook? Is his ebook still limited to one device for one year? Assuming yes and yes:

Day 4, Customer A envies Customer B for having the ebook on a mobile device.

Can Customer A delete his ebook from his computer, download the ebook again from our store, and get the same ebook with wider permissions?

Note that the reference to ACS Console is not trivial: we have no capacity to interact with ACS other than through the Console.

Any help/insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim Lyons

[Jim_Lester-oIBbX7]

Once the user gets the license, they have the license.

So for Day3 customer A has the book with the license that has the old permissions, and Customer B has the book with a license with the new permissions.

Day 4.  If customer A redownloads with the same transaction ID, then they will get the original license.

If you issue a new transaction ID to customer A then they will get a new license.

[EmondMontgomery]

Jim:

Thanks v. much for the explanation/confirmation. We want to extend permissions for some books without causing existing customers to lose access to the books.

There's a further questionable situation. We want to replace an existing book in PDF format with the same book in epub format.

Day 1, Customer A buys an ebook. The ebook a PDF.

Day 2, the PDF is replaced with an epub. It's the same book but in different format. The PDF is removed from the Distributor inventory but remains in the Operator inventory. The Distributor's  XML catalogue drops the reference to the PDF and replaces it with a reference to the epub.

On Day 3, can Customer A still access the PDF? Or should the PDF have been left in the Distributor inventory, and in the XML catalogue, on Day 2? What would happen if the PDF were deleted from the Operator inventory as well?

Any help/insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim Lyons

[Jim_Lester-oIBbX7 · Accepted solution]

Most likely ACS4 will treat the epub file as a different book (different resourceid), as I don't think you will be able to do a replace package request with a different format.

[EmondMontgomery]

Thanks -- as I thought (feared).