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Marooned: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror books on Mars: Authors Guild to new Kindle 2: You don't have the right to read a book out loud
Writer Beware Blogs!: Victoria Strauss -- Authors Guild Alert on "Text to Speech" Function of Kindle 2
Lakeshore: [publishing] The banal evil of the Google copyright settlement
Authors Guild to new Kindle 2: You don't have the right to read a book out loud
Marooned: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror books on Mars —
... states that some authors and publishers are concerned about a text-reading feature in Amazon’s new Kindle 2 electronic book reader:“... Some publishers and agents expressed concern over a new, experimental feature that reads text aloud with a computer-generated voice.‘They don't have the right to read a book out loud,’ said Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild . ‘That's an audio right, which is derivative under copyright law.’An Amazon spokesman noted the text-reading feature depends on text-to-speech technology, and that listeners won't confuse it with the ...
Victoria Strauss -- Authors Guild Alert on "Text to Speech" Function of Kindle 2
Writer Beware Blogs! —
Just got this alert from the Authors Guild: On Monday, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled Amazon's Kindle 2 e-book reading device at the Morgan Library in New York. Most of the changes from the first version of the Kindle are incremental improvements: the new Kindle is lighter and thinner, for example, and Amazon eliminated the scroll wheel. One update, however, is wholly new: Amazon has added a "Text to Speech" function that reads the e-book aloud through the use of special software. This presents a significant challenge to the publishing industry. ...
National Federation of the Blind enters debate over Amazon's Kindle 2, opposes Authors Guild
Marooned: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror books on Mars —
... Thursday rejecting the argument of the Authors Guild 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." Furthermore, while acknowledging that Kindle 2 is “a step in the right direction," the National Federation of the Blind asserted 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 ...
President of Authors Guild sounds off on Kindle 2 in The New York Times op-ed column
Marooned: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror books on Mars —
[image] Roy Blount Jr., president of the Authors Guild , sounds off on the text-to-speech feature in Amazon’s new Kindle 2 e-reader in an op-ed column in today’s The New York Times . Here’s the end of Blount's piece:“For the record: no, the Authors Guild does not expect royalties from anybody doing non-commercial performances of 'Goodnight Moon.' If parents want to send their children off to bed with the voice of Kindle 2, however, it’s another matter.”Pictured above: Jeff Bezos of Amazon holds the new Kindle 2.
A Kindle 2 interview with Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild
Marooned: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror books on Mars —
... The Engadget Interview: Paul Aiken, Executive Director of the Authors Guild February 27, 2009 By Nilay Patel As you're no doubt aware, this week's launch of the Kindle 2 came complete with copyright controversy -- the Authors Guild says that Amazon's text-to-speech features will damage the lucrative audiobook market. To be perfectly frank, we're of two minds on this debate: on one hand, we're obviously all for the relentless progression of technology, and on the other, we sussed out the fundamental reasons for the Guild's objections almost immediately. It's pretty easy to ...
Amazon bows to Authors Guild, to allow disabling of Kindle 2 audio feature
Marooned: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror books on Mars —
... and the Authors Guild over the legality of a text-to-speech feature in the new Kindle 2 e-reader, Amazon announced today that it will let publishers decide whether they want the electronic device to read their books aloud. Here’s the full text of Amazon’s statement, taken directly from the website of ...
[publishing] The banal evil of the Google copyright settlement
Lakeshore —
Google's motto famously is "Don't be evil." Yet the Google Book Settlement is nothing but evil, an assault on copyright so profound even the Mouse lawyers at Disney never thought to try such a broad rights grab. In the simplest terms, the Authors Guild sued Google over their Google Book Search service, claiming copyright violation. Google has settled for an amount ranging between $60 and $300 per work. By comparison, statutory damages for willful infringement of copyright range up to $150,000 per work. Now, as it ...
Reading Rights Coalition to protest Authors Guild’s opposition to text-to-speech feature in Amazon's Kindle 2 e-reader
Marooned: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror books on Mars —
... will “protest the threatened removal of the text-to-speech function from e-books for the Amazon Kindle 2 which promised for the first time easy, mainstream access to over 255,000 books. Hundreds of disabled Americans (the blind and people with dyslexia, learning difficulties, spinal cord injuries, seniors losing vision, stroke survivors) will march to demand that the Authors Guild reverse its decision.”The informational protest will take place outside the headquarters of the Authors Guild in New York City at 31 East 32nd Street on April 7, 2009, from noon to 2:00 p.m. If you ...
Authors Guild responds to Reading Rights Coalition’s protest over attempt to mute Kindle 2 e-reader
Marooned: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror books on Mars —
[image] Here’s the opening paragraph in a statement from the Authors Guild in response to a protest held yesterday afternoon in New York City by the Reading Rights Coalition , a nonprofit organization that represents millions of disabled people who cannot read print, over the Authors Guild’s attempt to mute the text-to-speech function in Amazon’s new Kindle 2 e-reader:“April 7, 2009. Today, the National Federation of the Blind led a protest in front of the Guild's offices in Manhattan. This protest stems from Amazon's announcement in February that it ...
Philip K. Dick Trust joins call for more time to gubble through 334-page, $125 million Google Books Search settlement
Marooned: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror books on Mars —
... have acceded to a two-month delay to the resolution of the Google Settlement to allow those affected "more time to consider [their] rights and options". It follows a request made last week by a number of authors, including representatives of the estate of ...
Justice Dept. opens antitrust inquiry into $125 million Google Books Search settlement
Marooned: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror books on Mars —
... Justice Dept. Opens Inquiry Into Google Books Deal The New York Times, April 28, 2009 By Miguel Helft SAN FRANCISCO -- The Justice Department has begun an inquiry into the antitrust implications of Google’s settlement with authors and publishers over its Google Book Search service, two people briefed on the matter said Tuesday. Lawyers for the Justice Department have been in conversations in recent weeks with various groups opposed to the settlement, including the ...
Turning a page, Germany expresses concern about Google Book Search project
Marooned: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror books on Mars —
... of American publisher Random House, a transaction which was opposed by the Authors Guild but approved by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. "It's as if the New York Yankees were sold," said Paul Aiken, the executive director of the Authors Guild, at the time. "We're losing one of the major players at a time when there's been a great deal of concern about consolidation and fear of book contract cancellations." In 2002, a group of scholars revealed that Bertelsmann tried to ...
The Authors Guild has yet to write the book on Paul Aiken, its Executive Director
Marooned: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror books on Mars —
... and audiobooks, Paul Aiken also starred in the recent drama over the text-to-speech feature in Amazon’s Kindle 2 electronic book reader. In fact, Aiken et al. have been fighting legal battles with publishing and media companies for more than a decade. But if you’re interested in reading a biography of Mr. Aiken, you’ll have to conduct most of the research yourself, because the Guild has yet to write the book on its Executive Director. Consider:• According to the website of the Authors Guild , Paul Aiken is the Executive Director. The website has no biographical ...
Both Inkwell Foundation and Authors Guild need teachable moment in nonprofit governance
Marooned: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror books on Mars —
... , a charity controlled by distinguished African-American scholar and Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., plans to file an amendment to the organization’s 2007 IRS Form 990, after questions were raised about “research grants” awarded to staff members. Meanwhile, the Authors Guild has yet to post on its website a biography or photograph of attorney ...
Open Book Alliance launches website opposing $125m Google Book Search settlement
Marooned: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror books on Mars —
... , Microsoft, New York Library Association, Small Press Distribution, Special Libraries Association, and Yahoo against Google, Association of American Publishers, and the Authors Guild ! United States District Court Judge ...
Judge postpones October 7th fairness hearing on $125m Google Books Search settlement
Marooned: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror books on Mars —
... reports that United States District Court Judge Denny Chin has granted the motion filed by the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers to postpone the October 7, 2009, fairness hearing on the proposed $125 million Google Books Search settlement.
