Comments on: Author’s Guild calls Kindle 2’s text-to-speech software illegal

By: Author's Guild Attacks the Kindel | Emergent Future

Author's Guild Attacks the Kindel | Emergent Future — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:58:50 +0000

[...] don’t have the right to read a book aloud.” Those are the words of Paul Aiken, the Director of the Author’s Guild, in relation to Amazon’s Kindle 2 . [...]

By: Amazon responde a las acusaciones sobre el text-to-speech del Kindle 2 | Materia Geek

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 06:31:47 +0000

[...] le está causando a Amazon muchos problemas y dolores de cabeza, ya que varios autores y editores se pronunciaron en contra de esta nueva función aludiendo que es [...]

By: Link-Tipps der letzten Zeit | Leander Wattig

Link-Tipps der letzten Zeit | Leander Wattig — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:01:04 +0000

[...] Author’s Guild calls Kindle 2’s text-to-speech software illegal [...]

By: Greg Forest

Greg Forest — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 01:52:58 +0000

Putty dumb… Authors guild is locking out the largest and fastest demographic – the illiterate!

By: Plankhead

Plankhead — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 06:48:19 +0000

Author’s Guild Hates Children and Blind People, Demands That Amazon Kindle Not Read To Them…

CrunchGear just brought to my attention a recent WSJ article about how the Author’s Guild is making a frivolous attempt at making people realize that they exist. Oh, and something about how Amazon’s recently announced second-generation Kind…

By: Kindle Kerfluffle, starring the Authors Guild | Recent Technology News Blog, Washington DC Metro

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:43:17 +0000

[...] the new Kindle has the Authors Guild up in arms because it reads e-books aloud using a text to speech algorithm. “They don’t have the right to read a book out loud,” said Paul Aiken, executive [...]

By: Nick Projects » Author’s Guild is Smoking Crack

Nick Projects » Author’s Guild is Smoking Crack — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:21:18 +0000

[...] See the original story in Tech Crunch. Written by Nick in: rants [...]

By: JoshK

JoshK — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:21:22 +0000

Forrest, if you are part of any organization for blind people, you would do well to forward this article to them. In fact, if I was in PR at Amazon, I would find a prominent interest group for blind people, send them this statement by the Author’s Guild, and pledge to support them to fight this kind of discrimination.

Let’s see how good the Author’s Guild appears once they are fighting against the blind instead of a “big evil money-making corporation” like Amazon.

By: NickeyD

NickeyD — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 08:29:15 +0000

Author’s Guild doesn’t represent the majority of professional authors in states. Nobody does.

By: Vengu

Vengu — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:27:58 +0000

Copyrights should not be present in this planet. Period.

By: Around the Web 2.11.09: Twitter goes down, authors object to Kindle 2, troubles in Yelpland | FocuSoft Tech Blog

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 01:37:10 +0000

[...] – Does the Kindle’s text-to-speech software create copyright issues? One author says yes. CrunchGear [...]

By: Aaron

Aaron — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:42:24 +0000

Why is the guild not using this technology to ENHANCE the book instead? Imagine the author adding non-visible markup, which the Kindle reader can use to yell, whisper, etc. And so, they charge $14.99 instead of $9.99 for “ehanced reader” versions.

Sounds like a great money maker to me!

By: Carter Harkins

Carter Harkins — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:22:05 +0000

I think I need to hire a team of lawyers to protect my Constitutionally guaranteed freedom of text-to-speech rights. Do I understand it correctly that the Author’s Guild does not want its authors benefiting materially from Amazon sales of Kindle2 devices, and the resulting book sales it will bring? If I were an author, I would buy a Kindle2, compose an ALL CAPS letter to Mr. Aiken asking for a refund of my yearly guild dues, load it up and ship it to him so he can clearly hear the message.

By: You Have No Right To Read This Aloud! | Geek Troika

You Have No Right To Read This Aloud! | Geek Troika — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:08:09 +0000

[...] a shocker: someone is pissed at new technology. They don’t have the right to read a book out loud,” said Paul Aiken, executive [...]

By: Steve Pickens

Steve Pickens — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:44:39 +0000

The blind have used text to speech devices to read non-braille books for over 20 years.

As I understand the tenets of law, if a so-called abuse has been going unchallenged for a number of years (e.g. referring to all tissues as “Kleenex,”) the claimaint loses the case. Not acting immediately to remedy the situation is as good as telling the offender that it’s okay to continue.

By: Is Kindle’s Text-To-Speech a Breach of Copyright?

Is Kindle’s Text-To-Speech a Breach of Copyright? — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:50:37 +0000

[...] John Biggs, “Author’s Guild calls Kindle 2’s text-to-speech software illegal,” TechC…, Michael Kwun, “Does the Authors Guild Want to Sue You for Reading Aloud to Your Kids?” [...]

By: Kendall

Kendall — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:21:21 +0000

Reading aloud is protected free speech. For the Kindle 2 to read aloud, I’m not sure would be considered protected free speech.

The text-to-speech function makes no “fixed” recorded derivative of the work.

The text-to-speech is arguably not a “dramatic” presentation of the book, so no performance license is needed.

The Kindle 2 does not broadcast the speech unless it goes in front of a microphone. (maybe the next gen Kindle 3 Megaphone will need an ASCAP license?)

This smells like a land grab to me.

By: Toni Lopez

Toni Lopez — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:50:08 +0000

Right, like there isn’t speech to text on every PC already, which people can use to read online books and PDFs anytime they want — FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS AT LEAST !

By: Professor Copyright

Tell this dufus Paul Aiken to go to law school before he starts opining.

And if he already did go to law school, then he should go back again.

By: Uncontrolled Vocabulary #70 - The Galaxy’s Brightest Stars and Guiding Lights | Uncontrolled Vocabulary

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:29:40 +0000

[...] Author’s Guild calls Kindle 2’s text-to-speech software illegal [...]