[blindlaw] Why the Authors Guild Is Off-Base About the Kindle 2

Mon Mar 2 22:04:32 UTC 2009

FYI... Two well-reasoned blogs.  1. FW: Canadian copyright lawyer
deplores Kindle 2 move by Amazon and authors; and

 2. Why the Authors Guild Is Off-Base About the Kindle 2

________________________________

1.

Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 11:24 AM
Subject: Canadian copyright lawyer deplores Kindle 2 move by Amazon and
authors

>From a Google Alert:

EXCESS COPYRIGHT: Amazon Caves on Kindle
<http://excesscopyright.blogspot.com/2009/03/amazon-caves-on-kindle.html
> 
By Howard Knopf 
This is tough luck for the blind, for all consumers and for innovative
technology. Amazon owes a better explanation. There may be a "Kindle
Swindle" underway here - but it's the public interest that appears to be
the most obvious victim ...
EXCESS COPYRIGHT - http://excesscopyright.blogspot.com/
<http://excesscopyright.blogspot.com/>  

URL to Canadian copyright lawyer's blog:

http://excesscopyright.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2009-01-01T00%3A0
0%3A00-05%3A00&updated-max=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=4
3

2.

NOTE: The author of this blog is the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing,
one of the top book publishers in the US.

From: On Behalf Of Michael Hyatt
Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 10:03 AM
To: Rovig, Lorraine
Subject: Michael Hyatt's Blog

Michael Hyatt's Blog <http://michaelhyatt.com>  

Why the Authors Guild Is Off-Base About the Kindle 2
<http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michaelhyatt/~3/7GOPKTwSPss/why-the-auth
ors-guild-is-off-base-about-the-kindle-2.html>  

Posted: 02 Mar 2009 04:00 AM PST

As you may know, the Amazon Kindle 2
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00154JDAI?tag=fwis-20>  has the
ability to read books out loud. The text is read by the computer, so it
doesn't come close to a true audio book read by the author or an actor.
However, I have found it to be surprisingly useful.

For example, last week when I received my new Kindle 2, I wanted to read
through the user's manual. (I know, I am one of those kind of people.)
So, early one morning, I started reading in the conventional way-at
least conventional for an eBook.

Eventually, it was time to get ready for the day. But rather than
closing the book, I turned on the text-to-speech function and listened
to the book while I shaved. The Kindle started reading at the top of the
current page and continued until I stopped it. When I finished getting
ready, I resumed my normal reading, at exactly the point the
text-to-speech function had stopped. Amazing.

But surprisingly, Ray Blout, Jr., the president of the Authors Guild,
argued last week in the New York Times
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/opinion/25blount.html?_r=1>  that
Amazon's text-to-speech function is an infringement of the rights
holders' "audio rights." Personally, I don't think this argument is
valid, nor is it in the best interests of authors or publishers to
maintain this position.

As Amazon itself has argued
<http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/amazon-backs-off-text-to-speec
h-feature-in-kindle/> , no audio is recorded. In principle, it is no
different than me handing my book to a friend and asking him to read it
aloud to me. Nothing is recorded. Nothing is performed. In fact, reading
the book aloud is only made possible because I bought the print (or in
this case digital) version of the book.

>From my point-of-view, this feature is actually an added value that
serves to make reading more accessible by more people in more
situations. It also enables me to get through the book more quickly, so
I can go buy more books. This, at a time, when, quite frankly, reading
needs all the help it can get.

Unfortunately, as Seth Godin <http://sethgodin.typepad.com/> , himself a
bestselling author, argued yesterday
<http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/03/beware-of-trade-guilds-
maintaining-the-status-quo.html> , trade associations like the Authors
Guild often hurt their own members by attempting to preserve the status
quo. Instead, they should be celebrating this innovation and working to
facilitate it. In the end, I personally believe Amazon's text-to-speech
function will only help to drive more book sales for everyone.

Sadly for the industry, Amazon backed off its original position
<http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/amazon-backs-off-text-to-speec
h-feature-in-kindle/> . It will now allow publishers to "turn off" the
text-to-speech function on a title-by-title basis. Ultimately, this will
only hurt readers and eventually authors and publishers.

In the meantime, we at Thomas Nelson intend to leave the feature on. If
other publishers turn it off, great. It will only serve to give us-and
our authors-a competitive advantage.

Related posts:

1.       More Details on the Amazon Kindle
<http://michaelhyatt.com/2007/11/more-details-on-the-amazon-kindle.html>

2.       The New Amazon Kindle 2 Unboxed
<http://michaelhyatt.com/2009/02/the-new-amazon-kindle-2-unboxed.html> 

3.       Kindle: First Impressions
<http://michaelhyatt.com/2007/11/kindle-first-impressions.html> 

4.       The Book 2.0 <http://michaelhyatt.com/2007/11/the-book-20.html>

5.       Advice to First-Time Authors
<http://michaelhyatt.com/2008/08/advice-to-first.html> 

<http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/michaelhyatt?a=7GOPKTwSPss:87xn0rBhEU8
:yIl2AUoC8zA>  
<http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/michaelhyatt?a=7GOPKTwSPss:87xn0rBhEU8
:D7DqB2pKExk>  
<http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/michaelhyatt?a=7GOPKTwSPss:87xn0rBhEU8
:F7zBnMyn0Lo>  
<http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/michaelhyatt?a=7GOPKTwSPss:87xn0rBhEU8
:qj6IDK7rITs> 

You are subscribed to email updates from Michael Hyatt
<http://michaelhyatt.com>  
To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now
<http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailunsubscribe?k=Tv1tIW1EBK1yO5zrOg5
he4RrYDI> .

Email delivery powered by Google

Inbox too full?   <http://feeds2.feedburner.com/michaelhyatt> Subscribe
<http://feeds2.feedburner.com/michaelhyatt>  to the feed version of
Michael Hyatt in a feed reader.

If you prefer to unsubscribe via postal mail, write to: Michael Hyatt,
c/o Google, 20 W Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 997 bytes
Desc: image001.gif
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/attachments/20090302/1aaa8a53/attachment.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image007.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 73 bytes
Desc: image007.gif
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/attachments/20090302/1aaa8a53/attachment-0001.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image008.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 1058 bytes
Desc: image008.gif
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/attachments/20090302/1aaa8a53/attachment-0002.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image009.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 431 bytes
Desc: image009.gif
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/attachments/20090302/1aaa8a53/attachment-0003.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image010.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 43 bytes
Desc: image010.gif
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/attachments/20090302/1aaa8a53/attachment-0004.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image011.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 683 bytes
Desc: image011.gif
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/attachments/20090302/1aaa8a53/attachment-0005.gif>