Events: IDPF Voting: Board Nomination

Dear fellow IDPF members,

I submit my nomination for re-election to the IDPF Board of Directors.

IDPF has made significant achievements over the past two years. We completed standardization of container packaging (OCF) and advanced our core OEBPS format to a new level of capabilities with the recent approval of the epub standards. I’m particularly pleased that we were able to rapidly develop these new standards in an open collaborative process, with participation of publishers, vendors, and other standards groups and organizations, culminating in a unanimous approval of OPS 2.0, and that key publishers and vendors have rapidly embraced these new standards. From a marketing perspective, IDPF has achieved more visibility in the publishing industry, including two successive sold-out May events in New York City. eBooks are once again capturing mainstream press attention, and showing signs of increased adoption on the part of consumers. Expansion of the IDPF membership base is further evidence that we are delivering value.

But much more work remains. Accessibility needs to be a focus area to ensure that the potential benefits of epub over final-form paginated formats are fully realized, and that we unify rather than splinter as we collaborate with other organizations such DAISY, OASIS, and W3C. Proprietary eBook formats and non-interoperable DRM are still dividing the market and generating undue costs for publishers and unnecessary confusion and frustration on the part of end users. Digital publishing still represents less than 1% of the print book revenues, so has a long way to go before it can be truly considered mainstream. Our membership base and attention to concerns outside North America needs to be expanded to fully justify the “I” in “IDPF” – especially as geographies where print distribution infrastructure is limited represent a prime market for digital distribution.

To increase publisher and end-user confidence and adoption, and fully realize our goals, we as an organization have much work remaining, both in standards development and assurance through certification programs and other means, and in marketing and industry evangelism. Publishers need to be able to cost-effectively and securely distribute content via multiple channels, and consumers need to be able to acquire content from multiple sources, and utilize that content conveniently and flexibly according to the rights licensed by copyright holders and permitted by fair use.

As members, we all represent organizations that have specific interests and agendas. I believe we have reached a critical juncture where as individuals we need to strive to take a broader perspective in order to achieve our overall aims. The thriving ecosystem that we foster will ultimately serve the best interests of our employers as well as the overall industry and consumers. I am personally and professionally committed to accelerating the adoption of digital publishing, across market segments, for commercial as well as non-commercial content, and promoting open standards and maximizing interoperability. If re-elected to the IDPF Board for a second term I will continue to endeavor to the best of my ability to advance these areas on behalf of the overall IDPF membership.

Sincerely,

Bill McCoy
General Manager, Digital Publishing Business
Adobe Systems Incorporated