[blindlaw] National Federation of the Blind Responds to Authors Guild Statement on the Amazon Kindle 2

Fri Feb 13 14:13:21 UTC 2009

So the Authors Guild says that having a book read aloud by a machine in
the privacy of one's home or vehicle is a copyright infringement.  I'll
bet they don't sue on it.  In my opinion, they would loose and if they
are well counseled, that know it.  Although some will disagree, in my
opinion this is nothing more than format shifting, which falls under Fair
Use.  We had a thread going on this issue for the last week or so, which
forced me to do some research.  I reached my conclusion based on the 1984
Betamax decision and the 1999 Rio MP3 player decision (RIAA v. Diamond
Multimedia, 180 F. 3d 1072, 1079, 9th Cir. 1999), both of which concluded
that format shifting for person use is Fair Use. 

The proposed contract restriction is far more insidious. A contract not
to make these books available in audio format may in fact be enforceable
as between the parties. However, if the  Kindle 2 is capable of
converting the text-to-speech how is the Authors Guild going to enforce
the contract provision against third parties? The other problem they may
have is if they insist on that provision, is that they may find they
cannot sell their books in electronic text format which represents an
economic loss that the individual authors may not be willing to accept.

Patrick H. Stiehm
Stiehm Law Office
Alexandria, VA 22309
703-360-1089 (Voice)
703-935-8266 (Fax)

On Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:38:09 -0600 "Freeh, Jessica" <JFreeh at nfb.org> (by
way of David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com>) writes:
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> 
> CONTACT:
> Chris Danielsen
> Director of Public Relations
> National Federation of the Blind
> (410) 659-9314, extension 2330
> (410) 262-1281 (Cell)
> <mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org
> 
> National Federation of the Blind Responds to Authors Guild
> Statement on the Amazon Kindle 2
> 
> Baltimore, Maryland (February 12, 2009): The National Federation of 
> 
> the Blind, the largest organization of blind people in the United 
> States, today responded to a statement put out by the Authors Guild 
> 
> advising its members to consider negotiating contracts prohibiting 
> e-books to be read aloud by the new Amazon Kindle 2, which 
> incorporates text-to-speech technology. The Authors Guild argues 
> that 
> the reading of a book out loud by a machine is a copyright 
> infringement unless the copyright holder has specifically granted 
> permission for the book to be read aloud.
> 
> Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, 
> 
> said: "The National Federation of the Blind supports all 
> technologies 
> that allow blind people to have better access to the printed word, 
> including the ability of devices like the Kindle 2 to read 
> commercial 
> e-books aloud using text-to-speech technology. Although the Authors 
> 
> Guild claims that it supports making books accessible to the blind, 
> 
> its position on the inclusion of text-to-speech technology in the 
> Kindle 2 is harmful to blind people. The Authors Guild says that 
> having a book read aloud by a machine in the privacy of one's home 
> or 
> vehicle is a copyright infringement. But blind people routinely use 
> 
> readers, either human or machine, to access books that are not 
> available in alternative formats like Braille or audio. Up until 
> now, 
> no one has argued that this is illegal, but now the Authors Guild 
> says that it is. This is absolutely wrong. The blind and other 
> readers have the right for books to be presented to us in the format 
> 
> that is most useful to us, and we are not violating copyright law as 
> 
> long as we use readers, either human or machine, for private rather 
> 
> than public listening. The key point is that reading aloud in 
> private 
> is the same whether done by a person or a machine, and reading aloud 
> 
> in private is never an infringement of copyright.
> 
> "Amazon has taken a step in the right direction by including 
> text-to-speech technology for reading e-books aloud on its new 
> Kindle 
> 2," Dr. Maurer continued. "We note, however, that the device itself 
> 
> cannot be used independently by a blind reader because the controls 
> 
> to download a book and begin reading it aloud are visual and 
> therefore inaccessible to the blind. We urge Amazon to rectify this 
> 
> situation as soon as possible in order to make the Kindle 2 a device 
> 
> that truly can be used both by blind and sighted readers. By doing 
> so, Amazon will make it possible for blind people to purchase a new 
> 
> book and begin reading it immediately, just as sighted people do."
> 
> 
> 
> ###
> 
> 
> 
> About the National Federation of the Blind
> 
> With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind 
> 
> is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind 
> 
> people in the United States. The NFB improves blind people's lives 
> through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs 
> encouraging independence and self-confidence. It is the leading 
> force 
> in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind. In 
> 
> January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind 
> Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center in the 
> United States for the blind led by the blind.
> 
> 
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