[blindlaw] Accessible legislation/law beyond 17 U.S.C. § 121

Robert Jaquiss rjaquiss at earthlink.net
Wed Feb 4 18:45:57 UTC 2009


Hello:

     It is my understanding that a blind or print disabled person can buy a 
book and scan the contents of the book to make it accessible. That person 
cannot give away or sell the accessible version in any form.

     Agencies that serve the blind and print disabled such as Book Share can 
do the same thing and allow certified blind or print disabled persons to 
download accessible material. If you become a "volunteer" for BookShare, you 
can scan any book and upload it  to BookShare. As a volunteer, you are 
helping BookShare and are protected against action(s) by a publisher. For 
more information, go to the BookShare site.

Regards,

Robert Jaquiss, BookShare volunteer

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Patrick H. Stiehm" <stiehm.law at juno.com>
To: <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Cc: <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 8:28 AM
Subject: Accessible legislation/law beyond 17 U.S.C. § 121


A careful reading of 17 U.S.C. § 121, results in the realization of how
truly narrow in scope this exception to the copyright protection is.
Once you get beyond the question of textbooks i and the other rather
limited number of materials the statute covers you have a broader
question of copyright infringement.

For example, suppose I buy the latest Tom Clancy thriller in paperback,
cut it up, run it through my scanner and convert it to a PDF document.
After it's in PDF format by use Natural Reader to convert it to a
recorded format. I then listened to the book in that recorded format
(MP3).  Have I violated the copyright with respect to the Tom Clancy
book.

Beyond what I have described, assume that after I am done with it I then
give the book in this recorded format to a friend to listen to.  Is there
a copyright violation at that point.

I'm relatively certain that if I start to sell my MP3 files for people to
listen to the book I am violating the copyright. What if I simply put it
up on the web for people to download and enjoy, without my charging for
it.  Is there a violation?

Is there anybody on the list that has worked in the copyright area that
is comfortable addressing these questions? I think we should all find
this of interest.

Patrick H. Stiehm
Stiehm Law Office
Alexandria, VA 22309
703-360-1089 (Voice)
703-935-8266 (Fax)
____________________________________________________________
Great for your home and office! Stock up on all your household needs now.
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/PnY6rw4EZkGr993Ddx9QZLRaknpVeDZ35lPaey78xXgekwHfpAZMr/

_______________________________________________
blindlaw mailing list
blindlaw at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
blindlaw:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/rjaquiss%40earthlink.net 





More information about the BlindLaw mailing list