Bundled license model for e-textbooks tried in university classes: Aiming for an ecosystem of universities and publishers

Abstract

This paper is a report of an experiment using e-textbooks with a bundled license model in university classes. In recent years, there has been a tendency to replace textbooks, such as academic / specialized books, with teaching materials such as partial copies of books and teacher-made slides. In that case, there is a possibility that universities will be disadvantaged due to concerns over copyright law infringement and deteriorating profits for publishers due to a shift away from textbooks. As a countermeasure for this problem, we tried a bundle type license model that allows the use of multiple e-textbooks requested by teachers. As a result of the experiment, two out of the eight classes in total were successfully adopted, confirming the possibility of usage.