In his blog post, Scalzi quoted a conversation with Patrick Nielsen Hayden, senior editor of Tor Books, in which Hayden said that Macmillan had no intention of scaling back its anti-piracy efforts. The company currently has a legal team in place to pursue major infringers.

Last year, rival publisher Penguin over concerns that they could be stripped of DRM and kept by the borrower without penalty.

Meanwhile, JK Rowling offers Harry Potter books DRM-free from her Pottermore store, instead using digital watermarks to discourage users from copying e-books illegally.