Ebooks are a fast growing segment of the market: I've been buying Kindle books primarily for the last 6 years or so. And while many may lament the lack of feel of the genuine paper, or the smell of the freshly printed pages, it seems like a "major" functionality is completely missing from eBooks -- the ability to sign them.
Oh, to be sure, eBooks now carry illustrations, and no doubt mixed media books will become quite common as the years go by.
But how do you sell your Hemingway signed Old Man & The Sea (its modern equivalent) in 20 years if all you have is an eBook?
Enter the eSig update to your favorite eBook device/software, which allows you to get a digitally signed version of the book from your author, with optional joint selfie audio/video if the author is so inclined.-- theircompetitor, Jul 02 2014 I'm trying to think how this would work at a book signing event at a bookshop. You should be able to bring your Kindle along, and have a chat with the author who enters a dedication on their computer. You then enter your credit card details to buy an e-copy of the book, and then the book with the dedication electronically signed with the author's electronic signature downloads to your Kindle via the bookshop's wi-fi. Of course, this raises the possibility of a virtual all-online book signing event with the banter with the author conducted via some messaging app.-- hippo, Jul 02 2014 //But how do you sell your Hemingway signed Old Man & The Sea (its modern equivalent) in 20 years if all you have is an eBook?//
I'm of the impression that you're not allowed to sell electronic books. All you have is a licence to read them yourself, with perhaps an option on temporary lending. So the answer is that legally, you can't.-- Loris, Jul 02 2014 I'm not too familiar with IP law, but if an eBook is signed, then it is unique. Therefore it seems reasonable that in this case, the full rights to _that version_ of the e-book could actually be sold rather than licensed. Of course the owner of the eBook is not allowed to distribute copies of this book, or keep a copy if he/she sells it. Perhaps to track this we can leverage some other system. for example, if we sew a bit coin into the binding of each virtual signed book, transferring that bit coin transfers ownership of the book, so if you are found with a copy of a book that you don't own the bit coin for, you can be prosecuted appropriately.-- scad mientist, Jul 02 2014 I'm pretty sure your author could sign on the front of your kindle using a pocket knife no problem.-- pocmloc, Jul 02 2014 random, halfbakery