[A2k] Amazon and Bertelsmann turn off text to speech even in Kindle books that have zero price

[Robert Martinengo]

Miles,

We already have such an anti-discrimination clause written in to US
copyright law called the Chafee Amendment (see
http://www.loc.gov/nls/reference/factsheets/copyright.html ). Thanks
to this exemption, "it is not an infringement of copyright for an
authorized entity to reproduce or to distribute copies or phonorecords
of a previously published, nondramatic literary work if such copies or
phonorecords are reproduced or distributed in specialized formats
exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities."

So, publishers have a logical defense to charges of discrimination
when they disable speech on the Kindle - they 'granted' the
'disability rights' to 'authorized entities' in 1996. If a book is not
available from an authorized entity, well, whose fault is that?

Bob

On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 10:32 AM, Miles Teg<b.miles.teg@gmail.com> wrote:
> Is this not discrimination against people with disabilities? Are there
> no human rights norms which while not obliging positive action from
> owners/creators, it can create negative rights to prevent the shut
> off/blocking of available technology?
>