Amazon Technologies has applied for a patent for a process that would slightly alter each copy of an e-book. That way, if someone spread it around the Internet illegally, the version could be tracked. And presumably, the offender could be shipped to a cold, distant planet.

But the best part is the way the e-book is altered: by having a computer use synonyms to alter the text ever so slightly. Sure some fussy authors might complain. But does it really matter if the sky is described as blue or azure?

As the application says: "A synonym substitution mechanism may programmatically replace selected words in textual data with synonyms for the selected words. The modification to an excerpt performed by the synonym substitution mechanism may not significantly alter the meaning of the excerpt to a human reader. By replacing one or more selected words in an excerpt with synonyms for the words, illicit copies of the excerpt may be recognized by comparing a copy of the excerpt to the original."

So, as some snarky commenter noted, the opening of Moby-Dick might become, "Phone me Ishmael."  Or the opening of "A Tale of Two Cities" might read, "It was the best of intervals, it was the worst of intervals." There's a certain ring to it, eh?