This post maybe somewhat off topic - but I didn't know any other appropriate place to post it:

A client of ours has a web site where they sell/deliver highly specialized newsletters, via the web, via adobe pdf files.

Adobe has a product called adobe content server, that manages the delivery of their files, and provides a mechanism for restricting access to the pdfs, and in general, a mechanism for selling/delivering 'ebooks', that provides the seller with a mechanism to restrict/control access in order to protect uncontrolled copying and reading of pdfs that should rightfully have a price associated with them, and not be copied without permission. The technology is called 'Digital Rights Management' or DRM.

The client has asked us to investigate whether we could implement this technology for them. I am wondering if anyone has experience with this product. Is it easy to implement? Is it stable? Does it work as advertised? Etc.

One question in particular that we are grappling with (and Adobe's explanation's on it so far have not been too helpful, nor have they been helpful in getting us to the right person to answer our questions), is how they implement and control their pricing. They have a pricing structure where it costs $5,000 for a one year license for the technology, plus a 3% per transaction fee. The idea being (I think) that if costs $100 for an ebook, adobe gets $3. But in looking at how the technology is implemented, I don't understand how, or where they would track or control it.


Does anyone have experience with the Adobe technology, in general, or the pricing questions/technology in particular?


TIA