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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Friends,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial> </FONT><FONT face=Arial>This is indeed
wonderful news! </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial> With Amazon allowing individual
publishers to disable the text-to-speech function on the Kindle apparatus, at
their whim (obviously to boost sales of audiobooks), this is a wonderful
development. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial> Perhaps we can enfluence the
music publishers to make their classical music libraries available. The digital
revolution is upon us. It's time that all the collective knowledge of mankind be
available to all mankind. I understand the need to retain intellectual property
rights for composers still alive or with family legacy rights, but there's no
reason why every Bach or Mozart or Beethoven or Chopin piece
shouldn't be available to anyone who needs it, regardless
of "copyright-able" editorial notes. It's disappointing to me that I
can't offer a Beethoven Piano concerto in braille-ready format for download on
my website simple because my transcription is from the "Peters" edition, even
without the editorial notes. Editorial variontions or not, the actual
musical notes still belong to Herr Beethoven, et al., and we should not be
able to restrict this valuable legacy.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial> Keep the pressure on!
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial> Yours,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial> Andy English</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><A
href="http://www.papermusic.org">www.papermusic.org</A><BR>Music Transcription
and Consultation Services</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial> -Andy English</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><A
href="http://www.papermusic.org">www.papermusic.org</A><BR>Music Transcription
and Consultation Services</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=JFreeh@nfb.org href="mailto:dandrews@visi.com>)">Freeh,Jessica (by
way of David Andrews <dandrews@visi.com>)</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=david.andrews@nfbnet.org
href="mailto:david.andrews@nfbnet.org">david.andrews@nfbnet.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, September 10, 2009 5:07
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Nmabs] National Federation of
the Blind Endorses Google Books Settlement Before Congress</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<H1><B>FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE</B></H1> <BR><BR><B>CONTACT:<BR><BR></B>Chris
Danielsen<BR><BR>Director of Public Relations<BR><BR>National Federation of
the Blind<BR><BR>(410) 659-9314, extension 2330<BR><BR>(410) 262-1281
(Cell)<BR><BR><A
href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org">cdanielsen@nfb.org</A><BR><BR>
<DIV align=center>
<H1><B>National Federation of the Blind<BR>Endorses Google Books Settlement
Before Congress<BR><BR><BR></B></H1>
<H2><B>Urges Justice Department to Support
Settlement</I></B></H2></DIV> <BR><BR><B>Washington, DC (September 10,
2009):</B> The National Federation of the Blind, the nation’s oldest and
largest organization of blind people and the leading advocate for access by
the blind to digital information, testified before the House Judiciary
Committee today that the proposed settlement between Google and authors and
publishers regarding the Google Books project should be approved. The
Google Books settlement will make millions of titles available to the blind
and other Americans with print disabilities, providing more access to the
printed word than the blind have had in all of human
history.<BR><BR> <BR><BR>Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National
Federation of the Blind, told the House Judiciary Committee: “The Google
settlement is, for the blind and many others, the next step in the
democratization of knowledge. That process began with the introduction
of the printing press and then, for the blind, with the invention of
Braille. Now technology is available that transcends the traditional
limitations of both print and Braille, promising to make millions of titles
available to the blind in Braille or any other format of our choice. The
narrow business interests of Google’s competitors must not be allowed to block
Americans who cannot read print from all of the opportunities that greater
access to written knowledge will make available to them. It is time for
the doors of the world’s great libraries to be opened and welcome to
everyone.”<BR><BR> <BR><BR>The National Federation of the Blind also
urged the United States Department of Justice, which is reviewing the terms of
the settlement, to support the agreement. <BR><BR> <BR><BR>“The Google
Books settlement is a major step forward in advancing the civil rights of
blind Americans and others who cannot read print because it substantially
increases our opportunities for education and employment,” President Maurer
said. “The Justice Department, which is tasked with protecting the civil
rights of all Americans, should respect the agreement of the parties to the
settlement and allow its access provisions to be fully implemented. In
doing so, the government will send a strong message that it values the
participation of the blind in society and believes that we should have access
to all of the information to which our sighted friends and colleagues have
access.” <BR><BR>
<DIV align=center><B><BR><BR>###<BR></B></DIV>
<P>
<HR>
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