When Michael Geist published his book in 2005, he and his publisher decided from the outset that it would be available online for free.

And despite the free downloadable copy, Geist said the book, titled In the Public Interest: The Future of Canadian Copyright Law, was still “a commercial success” in its paper form, priced at $50.

It was a publishing experiment that could have led to zero sales for his publisher Irwin Law, and for Geist, currently the Canada research chair in Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa.

It’s also an experiment that flies in the face of a growing concern for many publishers and authors today — the threat of e-book piracy.