http://paidcontent.org/article/419-the-unglued-model-crowdfunding-to-make-e-books-free
The newly launched http://Unglue.it, now in alpha, is a place for individuals and institutions to join together to liberate specific e-books and other types of digital content by paying rights holders to relicense their works under Creative Commons licenses.
Here’s how the site will work when it is fully up and running: A book’s digital rights holder sets the price for which he or she is willing to make a book as a Creative Commons, DRM-free e-book. (Under Creative Commons, the rights holder’s copyright is protected and the rights holder can still enter into commercial agreements for other versions of the work, such as film and translation; he or she can also continue selling it in print and digital formats.)
Then http://Unglue.it begins a Kickstarter-like crowdfunding campaign to raise money to set the book “free.” Users make pledges that are pre-authorized using PayPal. Once the money is raised—the practical limit of a campaign is about six months, says Hellman—the book is released and http://Unglue.it takes a commission.
Update:
http://plan3t.info/2012/02/08/unglue-it-was-ware-wenn