my client wants to sell premium content on the web.

He wants the content (both text and images) to be not only protected against theft and piracy; he also wants the ability to determine how long the content can be previewed before purchase. He also wants to sell the content with “inborn” characteristics, (i.e. only authorized users can print/save/distribute etc.)

Does anyone out there know of any solution that I can implement on a server to meet his demands?


bill

I have no experience with any of these, but here are a few possibilites to get you started:

CopySafe
Encrypt-HTML
HTML Password
WebPage Protector

Hello,

Please visit http://www.gammacenter.com
and view demo of SiteGuard software.

Best regards,
Andrey Lomakin.

PS: We can customize it for your need if you want something in addition.

Stopping printing/saving etc. will be difficult. One of the few ways to stop this would be using PDF files, but even that only stops printing.

You will really need two systems for this. One to control access based on time (such as PHP/MySQL) and one to take payments. Most payment systems can be integrated into scripts to make everything automatic.

You might be able to find something on HotScripts, or you might need to edit or create your own script, depending on exactly what content you are distributing.

I go with David.

I would recomend to create custom solution for your client's site, because I don't think you will be able to find the "exact" match in the ready-to-go scripts.

If you need help, let me know

If you want a commercial solution there are people out there who handle the whole thing - you create the pages and then tell them your pricing policy and they'll handle the rest.

eg

http://www.btclickandbuy.com/

I suggest using Flash.

HostLead

Originally posted by billyelverton
He wants the content (both text and images) to be not only protected against theft and piracy; he also wants the ability to determine how long the content can be previewed before purchase. He also wants to sell the content with “inborn” characteristics, (i.e. only authorized users can print/save/distribute etc.)

This is a really gray area. While there are authorization scripts you can use to grant/deny access to people, truly protecting your documents from "save/print/distribute" is near impossible. Once it is displayed in your browser, it is on your computer. Granted, a great number of people don't know about this, people who have the desire and know-how to get your content will.

You could use a no right-click script to thwart joe-schmoe. This will not work for the people who know how to get around it, but it will work for the vast majority.

My suggestion, in regards to images, keep the image size fairly small (to prevent it from printing well), and watermark your images (to prevent people from trying to pass it off as their own). Allow full size images to be viewed only after payment has been received.

As for text, provide just a snippet of your writing...just enough to peak their interest. Then offer the rest after paying.