E-readers in China – Many Manufacturers, Few Rights

Emma House, Trade and International Director for the Publishers Association, recently attended the Beijing Book Fair, and reported on the proliferation of e-reader manufacturers, and the relatively few options for rights management.  She writes:

“There are around 40 to 50 hardware manufacturers of ebook readers here in China. Unlike the Western markets, the Chinese market is very hardware-driven. Content however is a different matter. Apart from the publishing houses who have developed their own ereaders (we have so far met Shanghai Century Publishing Group with their own ereader hosting only its own content, and Shanda Literature with their Bambook, again hosting only Shanda content), all other hardware manufacturers are working to sell their wares to publishers or aggregators. If they have any content at all, it is all “public domain” works.”