Today Harry Potter, Tomorrow Textbooks

A pirated version of the new Harry Potter book is available online. Book piracy will become more common as electronic displays improve. Eventually pirated books will destroy the textbook market.


Textbooks often cost over $100. Within 10 years students will probably have e-book readers that have resolution as good as that in traditional books. Once this happens students will eagerly trade pirated copies of textbooks and destroy the for-profit textbook market.