Amazon Kindle Controversy
The Authors Guild have claimed that the text-to-speech facility of the Amazon Kindle 2 is a violation of American Copyright Law. On 24 February 2009 Roy Blount Jr, as president of the guild, wrote an op-ed article for the New York Times, in which he wrote, "...the guild is being assailed. On the National Federation of the Blind’s Web site, the guild is accused of arguing that it is illegal for blind people to use 'readers, either human or machine, to access books that are not available in alternative formats like Braille or audio.' ... The federation, though, points out that blind readers can’t independently use the Kindle 2’s visual, on-screen controls."
On February 27, 2009 Amazon announced that it would give publishers the right to limit text-to-speech on books, but hoped that most copyright holders would not take that path.
Read more about this topic: Authors Guild
Famous quotes containing the words kindle and/or controversy:
“You can make lots of mistakes, but if you give children avenues for creativity and joy, they will have resources to carry them through. For example, if cooking together, reading, listening to music, coloring, participating in sports, or taking a walk in the woods are paired with pleasure and closeness, throughout life doing these things will kindle old feelings of happiness an/or comfort.”
—Charlotte Davis Kasl (20th century)
“And therefore, as when there is a controversy in an account, the parties must by their own accord, set up for right Reason, the Reason of some Arbitrator, or Judge, to whose sentence, they will both stand, or their controversy must either come to blows, or be undecided, for want of a right Reason constituted by Nature; so is it also in all debates of what kind soever.”
—Thomas Hobbes (1579–1688)