After nearly a year of selling ebooks free of DRM copy protection, Macmillan subsidiary Tor Books UK said that it has seen no increase in piracy on any of its properties. The company's editorial director elaborated in an extensive reflection on the decision earlier this week, writing, "The move has been a hugely positive one for us, [...] we’re still pleased that we took this step." The science fiction and fantasy publisher officially made the change last July alongside its American sister company, noting that their audiences were too technically savvy to be forced to deal with the limitations of DRM.

Though Tor Books UK's editorial director noted that the decision was met with significant support by its authors and customers, it hasn't seen the same positive response from its competitors. Ars Technica points to a Publishers Weekly article on an industry rival that reportedly tried to have Tor reverse its decision. A subsidiary of Hachette Book Group allegedly suggested that some Tor Books authors should pressure the company to once again use DRM — the reasoning being that it could hurt sales in other regions where different companies owned the book rights. Tor Books seemingly has no intention of backing down, but it doesn't look like its position on DRM is catching on with the rest of the industry.