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

[E.J. Zufelt]

Good morning,

The URL for the article on the Authors Guild site is:

http://www.authorsguild.org/advocacy/articles/e-book-rights-alert-amazons-kindle-2.html


HTH,
Everett


On 13-Feb-09, at 4:41 AM, Darrell Shandrow wrote:

> How can we learn more about the original Author's Guild statement?  
> Does
> anyone have a link to it?
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Freeh,Jessica (by way of David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com>)"
> <JFreeh at nfb.org>
> To: <david.andrews at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2009 8:38 PM
> Subject: [nfbcs] National Federation of the Blind Responds to  
> Authors Guild
> Statement on the Amazon Kindle 2
>
>
> 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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