[bksvol-discuss] Re: Bookshare's Follow-Up With Author
- From: "Julie & Miss Mercy" <mercy421@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2008 16:38:20 -0400
This is great. I'm glad things were able to be resolved so easily and she
was willing to help get Bookshare off the list of pirate sites. I wonder how
it got there in the first place? Anyway, I'm glad that's over and she has
more of an understanding of who we are and what we do. Take care.
Julie Morales
Email and Windows Live/Windows Messenger:
inlovewithchrist@xxxxxxxxx
I'm a sales rep for Avon, All Mixed Up Gourmet and Scentsational Delights.
Contact me for more info.
----- Original Message -----
From: <bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 3:22 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Bookshare's Follow-Up With Author
Hi All,
Just wanted to forward an excerpt from our Publisher Liaison's wonderful
note to an author who had voiced concern last week about the legality of
Bookshare. We've since received a very gracious note from the author note
thanking us for the detailed explanation, and informing us that we currently
appear under a list of e-piracy sites, that such a listing was clearly in
error, and that she would so advise the creator of the list. The excerpt
follows at the end of this mail.
It is heartening to know that we collectively have the resources,
understanding and accurate information to quickly and smoothly resolve such
issues when they come up.
All good things,
Pavi Mehta
Volunteer Coordinator, Bookshare
Benetech
480 S. California Ave., Suite 201
Palo Alto, CA 94306-1609 USA
Phone: +1 650 644-3459
pavim@xxxxxxxxxxxx
www.benetech.org
The Benetech Initiative - Technology Serving Humanity
A Nonprofit Organization
"I am writing in response to your email of August 26 to one of our
volunteers regarding your concerns about why your book has been made
available in a disability-accessible form on Bookshare.org without your
permission. I am copying our CEO, Jim Fruchterman, to whom these issues are
of highest importance, as well as Pavi Mehta, who heads up our volunteer
effort, and our volunteer who received your email.
I hope that by providing you with some background information about
Bookshare.org and the legal issues that make it possible for us to scan and
share books with our print-disabled members, you'll feel reassured about the
security of your copyright and, we hope, gratified that our members felt
that your book was an important addition to our collection.
In 1996, Congress passed an amendment to the copyright law, the Chafee
Amendment, creating a narrow exemption to copyright law for certain
nonprofit groups that create accessible books for qualified disabled users.
Bookshare.org, which is an initiative of Benetech, one of Silicon Valley's
leading nonprofits, was created to provide accessible books to this
seriously underserved population of blind, vision-impaired, severely
dyslexic, and physically disabled individuals. We have relied on the hard
work of volunteers (many of them themselves print-disabled) who select and
scan books that they wanted to be able to read in an accessible format
(Braille, synthetic speech and large print).
It is critically important to know that our members all must be certified as
disabled by a qualified professional as meeting the requirements of the
Chafee Amendment to download the books that we offer. Additionally, we have
put controls in place to restrict access to people with bona fide
disabilities. We take our obligations under the copyright law extremely
seriously to serve disabled people while preventing access to the books by
people without disabilities. We worked very closely with the Association of
American Publishers before Bookshare.org was launched to ensure that
publishers supported our endeavor and had confidence in our ability to
protect the works of the authors whose books were submitted to us. We also
take relations with authors very seriously. We have an agreement with the
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, where SFWA encourages their
members to voluntarily provide high quality versions of their books to
Bookshare.org and Bookshare.org c
ommits itself to helping fight e-piracy and respecting the rights of
authors to ensure disabled readers have access to faithful versions of the
works.
Many authors and publishers have provided permissions to Bookshare.org to
serve people with disabilities in other countries, as well as providing high
quality digital versions of the works directly to us.
Below is more detailed information about the Chafee Amendment as well as the
system we've implemented to protect content from unauthorized use. I also
thought you might be interested in knowing a little more about us and
Benetech, our parent organization. Benetech's three main initiatives -
around human rights, the environment, and literacy - are truly
world-changing.
We hope that once you know us better and have confidence in the measures
we're taking to ensure your content is not illegally shared, you'll be glad
to be a part of this important initiative."
ABOUT BENETECH AND BOOKSHARE.ORG
Bookshare.org is an initiative of Benetech, a Silicon Valley high-tech
nonprofit that provides technology solutions to social causes that otherwise
could not afford them. Benetech has global initiatives around human rights,
the environment, and literacy. The director of our human rights program, Dr.
Patrick Ball, was the lead-off expert witness in the Slobodan Milosevic
trial in The Hague based on the work Benetech did in Kosovo and our
initiative in Guatemala to organize 80 million documents in a recently
discovered police archive was featured recently on PBS's Frontline. Benetech
was founded by Jim Fruchterman, a 2006 MacArthur Fellow, who is a widely
regarded social entrepreneur.
Bookshare.org is a global online library for blind, vision impaired,
learning disabled, and physically disabled readers to download into a
variety of formats (Braille, synthetic speech, speech to text, large print).
We received a $32 million award from the Department of Education last fall
to provide free accessible library services for five years to every American
student with a print disability. We currently have 40,000 books and 28,000
disabled members.
LEGAL INFORMATION
An exception in the U.S. copyright law - The Chafee Amendment (see below) --
makes Bookshare.org possible under the law in the United States, as long as
the copyrighted digital books are only available to people with bona fide
disabilities.
The Bookshare.org site does not provide access to copyrighted works for the
general public.
Although the requirements of the copyright law exception are quite clear,
Bookshare.org has gone beyond these requirements to ensure broad support for
the project. We have been working with the Association of American
Publishers, the main industry group, to address publishers' concerns in the
design of the service. We are also working with the leading disability
organizations, including the Library of Congress and Recording for the Blind
& Dyslexic. With extensive input from consumers, publishers and leading
organizations, we have created a plan for Bookshare.org that can be
supported by a broad array of interests.
Legal Requirements
Bookshare.org is an online community that allows users with print
disabilities to legally share books. It includes the necessary controls to
protect against use by non-disabled persons. Bookshare.org meets the
requirements of the relevant section of copyright law, 17 U.S.C. § 121:
"... it is not an infringement of copyright for an authorized entity to
reproduce or to distribute copies of a previously published, nondramatic
literary work if such copies are reproduced or distributed in specialized
formats exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities."
* Copies may not be reproduced or distributed in a format other than a
specialized format exclusively for use by blind or other persons with
disabilities.
* Must bear a notice that any further reproduction or distribution in a
format other than a specialized format is an infringement.
* Must include a copyright notice identifying the copyright owner and the
date of the original publication.
* "Specialized formats" means Braille, audio, or digital text which is
exclusively intended for use by blind or other persons with disabilities.
As a project of the Benetech nonprofit organization, Bookshare.org meets the
definition of an authorized entity.
Bookshare.org is based on electronic Braille and digital talking book
standards and copyright law recognizes these digital formats as specialized
formats for the disabled. Braille books and four-track audio cassettes are
the most commonly recognized specialized formats in use over the past thirty
years.
In addition, some publishers and authors have provided permission for books
and other publications they provide in digital form to be made available in
accessible digital formats to individuals with qualifying disabilities
either just within the United States or worldwide.
THE CHAFEE AMENDMENT
Copyright Law of the United States and Related Laws
Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code Circular 92
Chapter 1
Subject Matter and Scope of Copyright
§ 121. Limitations on exclusive rights: reproduction for blind or other
people with disabilities1
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, 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.
(b) (1) Copies or phonorecords to which this section applies shall -
(A) not be reproduced or distributed in a format other than a specialized
format exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities;
(B) bear a notice that any further reproduction or distribution in a format
other than a specialized format is an infringement; and
(C) include a copyright notice identifying the copyright owner and the date
of the original publication.
(2) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to standardized,
secure, or norm-referenced tests and related testing material, or to
computer programs, except the portions thereof that are in conventional
human language (including descriptions of pictorial works) and displayed to
users in the ordinary course of using the computer programs.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an infringement
of copyright for a publisher of print instructional materials for use in
elementary or secondary schools to create and distribute to the National
Instructional Materials Access Center copies of the electronic files
described in sections 612(a)(23)(C), 613(a)(6), and section 674(e) of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that contain the contents of
print instructional materials using the National Instructional Material
Accessibility Standard (as defined in section 674(e)(3) of that Act), if -
(1) the inclusion of the contents of such print instructional materials is
required by any State educational agency or local educational agency;
(2) the publisher had the right to publish such print instructional
materials in print formats; and
(3) such copies are used solely for reproduction or distribution of the
contents of such print instructional materials in specialized formats.
(d) For purposes of this section, the term -
(1) "authorized entity" means a nonprofit organization or a governmental
agency that has a primary mission to provide specialized services relating
to training, education, or adaptive reading or information access needs of
blind or other persons with disabilities;
(2) "blind or other persons with disabilities" means individuals who are
eligible or who may qualify in accordance with the Act entitled "An Act to
provide books for the adult blind", approved March 3, 1931 (2 U.S.C. 135a;
46 Stat. 1487) to receive books and other publications produced in
specialized formats; and
(3) "print instructional materials" has the meaning given under section
674(e)(3)(C) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; and
(4) "specialized formats" means -
(A) braille, audio, or digital text which is exclusively for use by blind or
other persons with disabilities; and
(B) with respect to print instructional materials, includes large print
formats when such materials are distributed exclusively for use by blind or
other persons with disabilities.
BOOKSHARE.ORG'S SEVEN-POINT DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT PLAN
Bookshare.org makes active efforts to ensure that its collection and its
users abide by the law to maximize the benefits realized by the disability
community and minimize abuse. Bookshare.org controls the format of the
materials that it provides and ensures the appropriate copyright notices are
in its digital publications. Access is restricted to disabled individuals
and other authorized entities. Digital rights management helps to ensure
that access remains limited to those covered by the copyright law exemption.
1. Qualified Users
Only blind or other persons with disabilities that affect their ability to
access print are permitted to download copyrighted books. Bookshare.org
follows the procedures and standards for access to books that is now in use
by Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D). A Bookshare.org user must
register and supply a signed certification completed by an appropriate
professional in the field of disability services education, medicine,
psychology or a related area. The certifier must be a recognized expert who
can attest to the physical basis that limits the applicant's use of standard
print. Appropriate certifying experts may differ from disability to
disability. For example, in the case of blindness and visual impairments, an
appropriate certifier may be a physician, ophthalmologist, or optometrist.
In the case of a perceptual disability, a neurologist, learning disability
specialist, or a psychologist with a background in learning disabilities may
be the most qualified cert
ifying professional.
In addition, since any U.S. resident who has previously submitted their
proof of disability to NLS (National Library Service for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress) would qualify under the
law, we have a cooperative agreement where NLS will certify to us that they
have such proof already.
2. Contractual Agreement
All Bookshare.org users have to agree to terms of use that forbid violation
of the copyright law restrictions on redistribution and use of copyrighted
material. Users who violate these terms will lose their access to
Bookshare.org and may suffer other legal consequences as a result of their
actions. The AAP's general counsel and GCs from leading publishers had the
opportunity to comment on these agreements and Bookshare.org made numerous
changes in response to their concerns.
3. Copyright Notice
In order to comply with the copyright law regulating the provision of
accessible books to people with disabilities (17 U.S.C. § 121),
Bookshare.org ensures that all copyrighted materials bear a notice that any
further reproduction or distribution in a format other than a specialized
format is an infringement. Such content includes a copyright notice
identifying the copyright owner and the date of the original publication.
In addition, there is other language reminding users of their obligations to
use this material only as permitted by their agreements with Bookshare.org
and the law. It also informs people who are not Bookshare.org users that
their possession of a Bookshare.org digital book is a violation of the
copyright law and that they should erase such a book without using or
copying it. View the text of the Bookshare.org Legal Agreements.
4. Encryption
Bookshare.org encrypts a requested book for a given user. A custom
decryption program is provided to each Bookshare.org customer. This program
decrypts content delivered for that user only and saves the decrypted
content to the specified DAISY or BRF (Braille) file.
5. Fingerprint
All copyrighted material downloaded is fingerprinted as part of the
encryption process so that the identity of the authorized user is contained
within the decrypted material in a difficult to find fashion. This way, if a
user illegally redistributes material downloaded from Bookshare.org, it is
possible to confirm both that the materials came from Bookshare.org and
which user was responsible.
6. Security Database
All transaction, encryption codes and fingerprints are stored in a database
enabling Bookshare.org to track any abuse to the source. Users are informed
of the existence of this database as part of Bookshare.org's privacy
program, and are informed of the limitations of the use of this data (it
will only be used to respond to abuse problems, and not for marketing or
other purposes).
7. Security Watch Program
A security program monitors all transactions and will suspend any user whose
account exhibits any excessive downloading of content or other unusual
activity. This program will build usage profiles and over time will be
strengthened through experience to flag potential abuse. For example, there
will be an active effort to suspend accounts that show evidence of abuse.
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