But differences over copyright implications still remain unsolved.
March 2, 2009
By Judy Mottl: More stories by this author:
Amazon Kindle 2
Amazon is rethinking its stance on the text-to-speech function in its
new Kindle 2 e-book reader, saying authors and publishers critical of
the feature will soon be able to block it from their works.
Yet Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) which debuted its second-generation e-reader
early last month, still maintains that the feature, called "Read to Me,"
does not violate licensing and copyright regulations.
The move comes as a response to criticism of the feature from portions
of the publishing industry. Last month, the Authors Guild, a writer
advocacy group, claimed that "Read to Me" constitutes a new literature
format that allows Amazon to skirt rules around licensing book formats.
E-books and audiobooks, for instance, are both licensed for compensation
purposes.
RELATED ARTICLES
Authors Want Amazon Kindle to Stop Talking
Kindle's Feeling Reviewers' Love
New Kindle's 'Read to Me' Spurs Copyright Review
Amazon Hopes to Kindle E-Reading Fervor
For more stories on this topic:
But the Guild said that the text-to-speech capability of the Kindle 2
makes for a new format that is not covered under existing agreements.
Amazon said that it aims to avoid the problem by giving copyright
holders the opportunity to specify whether their e-books would support
the feature. The company said it's now revamping its publishing system
to enable writers, authors and publishers to disable the technology on a
case-by-case basis.
Read More...
Don
No comments:
Post a Comment