PDF Publishing of LAW Books?

Nowadays it is quite common to see law students carrying around laptops wherein all of their class notes are stored as well as soft copies of the beloved codal. However, hard copies of books and annotations are still used as the insight of commentators is sometimes necessary in order to understand our country's laws. These books take up space and students who cannot afford to buy their own copies consume tons and tons of long bond and short bond paper in order to xerox the books

Why not just sell electronic copies of law books in pdf form that are appropriately coded thru watermarks on every page in order to save space? Such a system was adopted by Monte Cook, a well known former Dungeons and Dragons' roleplaying game designer, when he launched his own roleplaying line. And it worked. Nowadays, pdf publishing is the preferred mode by which rpg fans buy books online which would cost too much to ship overseas. Excessive import duties and taxes are avoided as the information does not pass thru the government bean counters but goes straight to the buyer's computer via the information highway.

If a proper system is set in place wherein the purchaser of the pdf can be traced thru his tin or credit card then it would be possible for the author of the book or the publisher to determine the identity of the purchaser of the watermark coded pdf and sue them in the event that the pdf is pirated.

Under the current set up, book author's have arrangements with publishers wherein they earn a commission for every book sold. The goal is obviously to sell the book at a high price as the publisher must recover the expenses of production as well as make a profit. The excessive price leads students to just xerox the book.

Realistically, law students have access to the internet and computers. Internet connectivity is a necessity nowadays and access to a computer is easy for everyone as demonstrated by the numerous Filipino Friendster accounts. If law students have no access to a credit card then the law school can set up a credit account for them a la PAYPAL which they can use to transact with the online book sellers. The added cost to the school can be born by the students in the form of "miscellaneous charges".