LockBook

Copy protection and distribution technology for Electronic Textbooks and other digital literary works for Africa

REIMAGINING the power of technology, for the learning industry, we built LockBook - A Textbook-distribution platform that prevents unauthorized file sharing, printing, copying, and screengrabbing.

By doing this we protect textbook copyright, Revenue, save distribution time and trees for a greener environment.

We are the Amazon Education of Africa.

Without a doubt, we are delivering instant access to learning as a right and not a privilege.

TEXTBOOK PIRACY

Piracy - one of the biggest technology concerns has instilled fear more than ever in the textbook publishing industry - the fear to digitize and distribute the latest editions of recommended textbooks for students and learners.

Since the pandemic started, the revenue from the textbook publishing industry globally is rapidly declining because of the scourge of digital textbook piracy as seen in the cases of the US, and the UK, who together control 90% of market revenue with the largest textbook publishers.

Noteworthy are the losses of the African textbook publishing industry where Publishers are reluctant to digitize textbooks or publish new editions because of textbook piracy and hence this has caused a huge barrier to literacy.

Post-lockdown, some of our university professors found out that 4 out of every 5 students they teach now have a pirated electronic copy of their recommended textbook majorly because bookstores and publishers were shut for a long period during the lockdown while online learning continued, the need for recommended textbooks by many students to read for online examinations opened up more space for electronic textbook piracy. Now, students and learners, who used to buy on average 12 printed textbooks yearly now buy just 2 at most post-pandemic.

Textbooks now stay longer on the shelf before they are sold even though they should be revised every three to five years to reflect new discoveries and research—especially in STEM fields. These kinds of textbooks may not be revised. 

We partner with academic press/publishers as well as reputable independent and reputable literary authors to digitally publish and distribute using a B2B2C cost per sale basis to serve the student readers in learning-based institutions by delivering instant access to learning as a right and not a privilege.

By doing this we protect Textbook and literary works copyrights in 1-click, guarantee Revenue and cost-effective distribution.

Without an iota of doubt, we are improving the quality of education 

Our research titled “Availability, Accessibility, and Readiness to utilize E-TEXTBOOKS for learning and Research among African University Students“ was carried using Google forms in partnership with Babcock University Press where we got 15,000 responses over a 6-months period. So far, we have engaged over 40,000 potential users in the design and development of our solution as well as Beta testing with weekly feedback surveys.

With our MVP, We have partnered with 1 private  learning based institution in Nigeria namely Babcock University, as well as more than 100 independent authors to publish 1,500 books at no-cost and distribute where we charge 20% commission for institutions and 25% for the Indie Authors.

We are already at $40,000 in revenue in just 2-quarters of operations. Up to $20,000 in gross sales have gone into developing a product-market fit.

Now, we have partnered with the largest Public University in Nigeria namely University of Lagos with an estimated user base of 120,000. This simply means offering our product on a larger scale.

Our financial projections show 92% of gross sales will come from the commission in textbook sales and 8% from service integrations and own branding for our partner bookstores/press.

Projections show that we will grow at 80% percent quarter-over-quarter with this new partnership.

We use our proprietary Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology for the protection and distribution of copyrighted literary works (textbooks) by various means to control or prevent digital copies from being shared over computer networks or telecommunications networks without authorization. Our DRM works with a web collaborative publishing tool that allows for Author(s), editors, reviewers, and designers to work together, we embellish our DRM to ensure that the literary work is safe up until it is fully published by allowing the copyright owner to control levels of access for everyone working on it so as to prevent leakage. 

Our DRM also works with a one-stop electronic bookstore which syncs with books published on the collaborative web publishing tool and licenses buyers.

Nonetheless, we leverage data mining and analytics to collect data such as how our partners or readers engage with our platforms and translate into quality, useful and accessible information for making informed business decisions such as:

1. Targeted marketing

2. Personalized content distribution

3. Complex text and graphic rendering

4. Auditing use of textbooks and their content to track leakage 

5. Giving Publishers and other partners intelligent infographics of people that engage with their content such as type of device, location etc. to help them know their customers

5. Artificial Intelligence Induced random pop-up self-assessment for readers

We currently serve over 6,000 regular users across three learning-based institutions in Nigeria including Babcock University, Pan-Atlantic University and the University of Lagos. Over 5,000 Readers engage with content from the three academic publishers across the three institutions aforementioned. Also, we have over 60 independent Authors of literary works currently on our site.

With a new partnership with the European Digital TextBook Library as well as the University of Ibadan, the biggest public University in Nigeria. We will be serving over 40,000 readers engaging our platforms.

To promote the use of Interactive latest editions of e-textbooks based on the student learning needs as an alternative solution to the limitations of the textbook (printed) so as to enhance students learning outcomes in form of knowledge. 

To aid Africa's education sector to provide electronic textbooks to support the curriculum's effectiveness and efficiency of learning.

To reach Africa- a segment of the population that reads less.

To significantly decrease carbon footprint for a greener environment.

GOAL 4: Quality Education

GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal

TECHNICAL BARRIERS

Our unpatented proprietary product - though underdeveloped and at an early stage of development, is operational and we have had to limit our workforce number and mobility to control the diffusion of information about our technology to prevent leakage. In doing this, technical customer support is lacking for our regular users.

We know that patenting now won't extend to further development that renders our product more useful and we have to shell out the cash for another round of patents again.

CULTURAL FACTORS

Many local authors publish literary works with non-academic publishers or sometimes self-publish for full copyright retention. Meanwhile, such works carry an insufficient level of intellectual rigour for scholarly dissemination because they can often stay unrevised for up to 15-20 years. 

Owners of such works want to use our platform to sell because it is lucrative, however, such works do not speak well of our brand.

FINANCIAL BARRIERS

Although we have a payment infrastructure that allows us to accept payments, we lack accounting software to automate billing.

LEGAL BARRIERS

We leverage data for business Intelligence, hence we lack compliance assurance with Privacy policies, Terms and Conditions etc. for necessary Data Protection Regulations.

LockBook was birthed during the lockdown in 2020 by the Kehinde and Oyerinde brothers who were all students of Babcock University at the time when the rapid paradigm shift to the use of E-learning technologies by most learning-based institutions skyrocketed, making literary piracy rampant especially in Africa. The strength of LockBook's management team stems not only from the combined expertise in both publishing, management and technical areas but also because we really are brothers in business and life. As students, we were exposed to the dangers of the paradigm shift to the use of technology to facilitate leaving where piracy has become more than ten times more rampant. While the semester continued online, we took the online exams and carefully observed the various means through which some students pirated uncontrollably allowing us to collaborate for research.

Some of us have interned with BU PRESS and we also know the plight of academic publishers alike. We also have taken student volunteering jobs at two different NGOs and have co-led research projects targeting education.

All 4 co-founders are C-Level staff with experience in e-commerce strategy, information systems and cryptography. 

Kehinde Brothers - Israel and Joseph have a combined experience. Israel is an active member of the Nigerian Law Intellectual Property Watch and is currently studying Information Systems at the University of Manitoba, Canada. Joseph is an undergraduate student studying Mass Communication at Babcock University and is trained in customer relationship management.

Oyerinde Brothers -Enoch and Emmanuel have a combined work experience of over 10 years including engineering, programming and sales and have succeeded in founding several start-up companies. Both have MSc. degrees in Computer Information Systems from Babcock University. 

LockBook Limited has partnered with Babcock University Research, Industry and Innovation Centre as well as the University Press and Bookstore for initial piloting and using their capital and resources to support the MVP deployments

Thank you for lending us a listening ear, We are looking forward to see what opportunities will present itself! In order to take this relationship further.

Our Education Technology Is Revolutionizing Education For Girls In Developing Countries With little or no electrical infrastructure many developing countries depend on mobile technology to access information and learn. What would be deemed a barrier to more developed countries has become a springboard for technological leapfrogging that continues to push innovation in eLearning. Here are some ways we are revolutionizing how girls learn in developing countries.

1) Promotes Safety

The story of almost 300 girls being abducted from school in a small Nigerian village by a terrorist group washed over international headlines in early 2014. This sparked the global social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls and highlighted how dangerous it can be for girls to do something that many people take for granted, go to school.

Providing electronic textbooks and accompanying mobile devices with an integrated Learning Management System at learn.lockbook.org allows girls to learn safely in the privacy of their own homes, out of the spotlight of sociocultural norms that would usually serve to diminish the importance of them being educated. With intuitive GUI and the ability for courses to have multiple logins, enabling full customization for the learner, physical barriers will soon be non-existent.

2) Improves Self-Esteem and Reinforces Self Advocacy

As little as one additional grade level may increase the income earning potential for girls up to 20% in developing countries.  The subsequent shift in earning power can change the dynamics of girl’s roles in the household, giving them a voice when they were once voiceless.

The ability to read and solve even rudimentary mathematical problems will increase their worth not only economically but socially allowing girls more say in regards to marriage, pregnancy and even helps to combat common social ills such as domestic violence.

3) Inspires International Collaboration and Technical Innovation

In order for girls to get access to eLearning they must first have access to the Internet. However, this poses logistical challenges to many developing countries where infrastructure is limited or non-existent.  We have started girls educational initiatives. Targeting some of the most remote and underserved populations in every corner of the globe. and are building have solar-powered Internet Schools housed in repurposed cargo containers across over a dozen countries in Africa.

We are also providing low-cost access to free Internet connectivity to most underdeveloping nations in Africa. With the focus on affordability, access and scalability all these entities are inspired to band together to ensure education is inclusive regardless of location, financial status or gender.

4) Provides Gender-Neutral Learning

Our Edtech software itself is incapable of social, religious or gender bias but allows little girls to learn at a pace that matches their intellectual aptitude and not be stifled by traditional gender roles, lowered expectations and inherent societal bias.

The fact is better education for girls contribute to the countries overall economy and women and their children live longer healthier lives. The only loss is to the antiquated ideology that girls don’t bring the same value as boys to a society.