>> How does making sure nobody copies them ensure that they don't fall into mediocrity? <<
The same way that The Gutenberg Project (
http://gutenberg.org) has a downside. While it is responsible for the wide distribution of lots of good books, it will also be responsible for the distribution of lots of errata.* The upside of copyright, in this respect, is its literally conservative effect. I think the question is what the publishers actually hope to accomplish with these mountweazel--and how well these serve to prevent what sorts of infringements and protect reference materials generally. I don't know the answers, so I don't know whether your objection is well founded or not. I admit, though, that I was also disturbed by the disclosure. This is just how I reconciled myself to it.
*similar to the "Wikipedia 'problem'"
