[A2k] The National Federation of the Blind Statement re Authors Guild's claim re Kindle2

[Manon Ress]

MEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Chris Danielsen
Director of Public Relations
National Federation of the Blind
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)
cdanielsen@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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***************************************************************************
Manon Ress
manon.ress@keionline.org
Knowledge Ecology International
1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA
Tel.:  +1.202.332.2670, Fax: +1.202.332.2673