[Blindtlk] Blindness Organizations and Arizona State University Resolve Litigation Over Kindle

[Freeh, Jessica]

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



Mitch Pomerantz, President

American Council of the Blind

(626) 372-5150 (Cell)

<mailto:mitch.pomerantz at earthlink.net>mitch.pomerantz at earthlink.net



Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

(202) 514-2007



Sharon Keeler

Arizona State University

(480) 965-4012 (Office)

(602) 540-8453 (Cell)

<mailto:sharon.keeler at asu.edu>sharon.keeler at asu.edu





Blindness Organizations and Arizona State University

Resolve Litigation Over Kindle



Phoenix, Arizona (January 11, 2010): The National Federation of the 
Blind (NFB), the American Council of the Blind (ACB), and Arizona 
State University (ASU), today announced a settlement agreement 
resolving litigation filed by NFB and ACB against the Arizona Board 
of Regents (ABOR) and ASU.  The lawsuit arose from the university's 
participation in a pilot program using the Kindle DX, a dedicated 
device for reading electronic books, or e-books, developed by 
Amazon.com, Inc.  The NFB and ACB alleged that the Kindle DX was 
inaccessible to blind students and thus violated federal law.  ABOR 
and ASU denied and continue to deny any violations of the law.



The settlement agreement among the parties was reached in light of 
several factors, including: (1) ASU's commitment to providing access 
to all programs and facilities for students with disabilities, 
including students who are blind or have low vision; (2) the fact 
that the pilot program will end in the Spring of 2010; (3) Amazon and 
others are making improvements to and progress in the accessibility 
of e-book readers; and (4) the university's agreement that should ASU 
deploy e-book readers in future classes over the next two years, it 
will strive to use devices that are accessible to the blind.



The United States Department of Justice is also a party to the 
agreement, which does not involve the payment of any damages or 
attorney's fees or costs.



Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: 
"The National Federation of the Blind is pleased with this 
settlement, which we believe will help to ensure that new 
technologies create new opportunities for blind students rather than 
new barriers."



Mitch Pomerantz, President of the American Council of the Blind, 
expressed support by commenting: "I believe this settlement between 
Arizona State University and the two major national consumer-advocacy 
organizations of blind and visually impaired persons will encourage 
the industry to develop fully accessible e-book readers in the near future."



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