Comments on: Amazon’s Kindle and the Right to Hear the Written Word http://musematic.net/2009/04/09/amazons-kindle-and-the-right-to-hear-the-written-word/ Rants and raves on the latest trends in the world of museum informatics and technology. An intrepid cast of experts from the Museum Computer Network and AAM's Media & Technology Committee share their insights, observations and tricks of the trade. Sun, 06 May 2012 03:15:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: amalyah keshet http://musematic.net/2009/04/09/amazons-kindle-and-the-right-to-hear-the-written-word/comment-page-1/#comment-13961 amalyah keshet Wed, 15 Apr 2009 07:25:44 +0000 http://musematic.net/?p=630#comment-13961 Yes, the AG's claim is that mechanical reading of the written text is a derivative work -- and legal opinion is that it is NOT. No separate work is created; that's why it's different from your CD example. To be a separate or derivative work, fixation is required. And yes, the TTS -- and other Kindle features -- can be disabled remotely. In fact, books purchased and downloaded to the Kindle can be remotely disabled -- it seems that the books don't actually belong to you, despite the "purchase" process. I'm not sure how this works with Amazon Kindle books downloaded to an iPhone, but I suspect that it 's the same. Everything is controlled remotely by Amazon, not by the reading device. Yes, the AG’s claim is that mechanical reading of the written text is a derivative work — and legal opinion is that it is NOT. No separate work is created; that’s why it’s different from your CD example. To be a separate or derivative work, fixation is required.

And yes, the TTS — and other Kindle features — can be disabled remotely. In fact, books purchased and downloaded to the Kindle can be remotely disabled — it seems that the books don’t actually belong to you, despite the “purchase” process.

I’m not sure how this works with Amazon Kindle books downloaded to an iPhone, but I suspect that it ‘s the same. Everything is controlled remotely by Amazon, not by the reading device.

]]> By: TJ http://musematic.net/2009/04/09/amazons-kindle-and-the-right-to-hear-the-written-word/comment-page-1/#comment-13953 TJ Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:12:24 +0000 http://musematic.net/?p=630#comment-13953 About the reading feature: is the Author's Guild claim that the text-to-speech-via-Kindle rendition is a derivative work? Is that why they claim a violation of ownership or permissions? I gather that other spoken works (such as books on CD) require separate licensing agreements. Why doesn't Amazon just agree to do that? And on the second quote - selectively turning off TTS and comparing it to remotely disabling your car's AC. Is that what they're saying, that they'll remotely disable the feature? Or would they disable it before distributing the book? Just curious. About the reading feature: is the Author’s Guild claim that the text-to-speech-via-Kindle rendition is a derivative work? Is that why they claim a violation of ownership or permissions? I gather that other spoken works (such as books on CD) require separate licensing agreements. Why doesn’t Amazon just agree to do that? And on the second quote – selectively turning off TTS and comparing it to remotely disabling your car’s AC. Is that what they’re saying, that they’ll remotely disable the feature? Or would they disable it before distributing the book? Just curious.

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