Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Authors Guild to new Kindle 2: You don't have the right to read a book out loud

An article in today’s The Wall Street Journal 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 audiobook experience. Amazon owns Audible, a leading audiobook provider. ...”


Is this the opening volley in another class-action lawsuit?

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