[Fopbc] Fwd: [Nfbf-l] Blindness Organizations and Arizona State University Resolve Litigation Over Kindle

[Lenora Marten]

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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