Protection
Pick the lock that fits the file
Not every title needs the same protection. A textbook worth £80 and a free sample chapter are different problems, and paying encryption prices for the sample is waste. DMR runs two levels of protection across both the formats it holds, so you can match the control to the risk.
By format
What we hold
Books & documents
EPUB 2, EPUB 3 and PDF/A, encrypted and fulfilled through ByteBooks Content Server — formerly Adobe Content Server 6.5. Sell, lend for a fixed term, or licence to an institution.
Books & documentsVideo
Widevine and FairPlay encryption with dynamic per-viewer watermarking, device and geography rules, hosting and an embeddable player.
Video DRMBy level
Two levels of protection
The choice is not really “how secure”. It is how much friction you are willing to put in front of an honest reader in order to slow down a dishonest one.
Full DRM — ByteBooks / Adobe
The file is encrypted and can only be decrypted by a reading application holding a licence issued to that reader. Copy, print and expiry are enforced by the application, not requested politely. Requires Adobe Digital Editions or an RMSDK application, and costs a fulfilment fee per download.
Use it for paid trade and academic titles, textbooks, standards, subscription reports, and anything you lend.
Social DRM — watermarking
No encryption. The buyer's name, email and order reference are written into the file itself, visibly and invisibly, so a copy found in the wild points back to the account it came from. The reader opens it in anything — no app, no account, no authorisation step.
Use it for free chapters, review copies and ARCs, conference handouts, low-risk backlist, and any title where a lost sale matters less than a lost reader.
Compare
Full DRM or social DRM
Most publishers end up using both, on different parts of the list. You can set the level per title, not per account.
| Feature | Full DRM (ByteBooks / Adobe) | Social DRM (watermarking) |
|---|---|---|
| File is encrypted | Yes | No |
| Copying and printing controlled | Yes, enforced | Not enforced |
| Expiry and timed lending | Yes | No |
| Traces a leaked copy to a buyer | Via transaction log | Yes, in the file |
| Reader needs a special app | ADE or an RMSDK app | No — opens anywhere |
| Reader needs an account | ByteBooks ID | No |
| Support burden | Authorisation questions | Close to none |
| Cost per fulfilment | Higher | Lower |
| Formats | EPUB, PDF/A, video | EPUB, PDF |
| Affected by the ByteBooks transition | Yes — see what changes | No |
A note on what DRM is for
DRM does not make a file uncopyable; nothing does. It makes casual redistribution inconvenient, makes lending and expiry possible at all, and gives you a record when something goes wrong. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something. We would rather you put strong protection where it earns its keep and light protection everywhere else.
Not sure which parts of your list need which?
Send us the shape of the catalogue — formats, price points, where it sells, what has leaked before. We will suggest the split.