Hi. My brother forwarded this message to me. I, for one, am glad of the news. Ted Chittenden >From: "David" <[log in to unmask]> >To: <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Fw: AFB Celebrates DMCA Exemption >Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003 16:25:30 -0800 > > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Janina Sajka" <[log in to unmask]> >To: <[log in to unmask]>; "[log in to unmask]" ><[log in to unmask]>; <[log in to unmask]>; ><[log in to unmask]> >Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2003 1:53 PM >Subject: AFB Celebrates DMCA Exemption > > > > > > http://63.240.118.132/info_document_view.asp?DocumentID=1979 > > > > > > Librarian of Congress ruling is >victory >for people who are blind or visually impaired > > > > American Foundation for the >Blind celebrates improved access to eBooks > > > > November 4, 2003 (Washington)--The Librarian of Congress issued a >ruling last week supporting the right of people who are blind or visually >impaired > > to gain full access to electronic books (eBooks). The ruling provides >an exemption to the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act DMCA), making it > > legal > > to circumvent any encrypted or protected features that render the >text >inaccessible for the specialized computer technologies used by people who >are > > blind or visually >impaired to read electronic text. > > > > "This ruling upholds the fundamental right to read for all people," >said Carl Augusto, President of the American Foundation for the Blind >(AFB). >"The > > emerging electronic book technologies have the potential to make >published information more accessible and usable to people who are blind or >visually > > impaired. By removing barriers to utilizing eBooks, the >Library ensured all people can continue to enjoy the benefits of progress." > > > > This ruling is the result of a concerted advocacy effort by AFB to >bring this issue to the attention of the Librarian of Congress. AFB >originally > > requested the exemption in December 2002, and later provided >testimony and evidence to show that approximately 50 percent of currently >published > > eBooks are inaccessible for >people who are blind and visually impaired. > > > > "This is a major victory, but there is more work to do," continued >Augusto. "AFB will continue to work with Congress, the Librarian and >publishers to > > ensure future titles are fully >accessible >for people who are blind or visually impaired." > > > > DMCA, which became U.S. law in 1998, makes it a felony to >develop >or use technology to get around security provisions of various classes of > > intellectual property including >software, ebooks, DVD movies and audio, among others. > > > > The Librarians ruling provides an exemption for: "Literary works >distributed in eBook format when all existing eBook editions of the work >(including > > digital text editions made available by authorized entities) contain >access controls that prevent the enabling of the eBook's read-aloud >function >and > > the enabling of screen readers to >render the text into a specialized format." > > > > Additional information about the DMCA and on this ruling, >including >copies of all testimony, can be found on line at, www.copyright.gov/1201/. > > > > >*** > > > > >Contact: > > >Carrie Fernandez > > AFB >Communications > > 212-502-7674 >or >[10][log in to unmask] > > > > >November 2003 > > > > >____________________________________________________________________________ >__________________________________________________________________________ > > > > Published: 11-4-03 > > > > Or use traditional mail services: > > American Foundation for the Blind > > 11 Penn Plaza > > Suite 300 > > New York, NY, 10001, USA > > > > >____________________________________________________________________________ >__________________________________________________________________________ > > > > > > > >-- >Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.536 / Virus Database: 331 - Release Date: 11/3/2003 > _________________________________________________________________ From Beethoven to the Rolling Stones, your favorite music is always playing on MSN Radio Plus. No ads, no talk. Trial month FREE! http://join.msn.com/?page=offers/premiumradio VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List. To join or leave the list, send a message to [log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type "subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations. VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html