[bksvol-discuss] International issues and building the global library
- From: <Jim@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 09:38:37 -0800
I saved Sarah's post on international issues, because it's been a major
focus of mine over the last week. I'm on a flight back from the WSIS
conference in Tunisia, and I have a paper entitled "Building a Global
Library for the Print Disabled". I'll send it as a separate email. The
short story is that we are really beginning work on it, and I expect
Bookshare.org to have roughly 3,000 current copyrighted titles available
worldwide within roughly six months. We are in active negotiations with
multiple organizations around the world to join with us in build the
global library I'm dreaming of.
That's one reason why I don't want Bookshare.org books pirated outside
the U.S. I hear these bogus excuses that we aren't working on it, that
we don't care. I know that denial of access is a major frustration:
after all, I did deliver almost 40,000 reading systems to people in over
sixty countries. It's not our job to police what people with
disabilities in other countries do with scanned books, as long as they
aren't coming from Bookshare.org. But, I am crusading to greatly expand
access to many times more books and gain permissions (or copyright
exemption) for everybody with a print disability around the world. And,
our ability to make that happen depends on our credibility around
obeying the law and honoring the bargains we've struck with authors,
publishers, volunteers and our members.
So, I will keep asking all of us to protect that dream of the future by
staying within the law and our commitments. I know that almost
everybody understands that, but the power in this doesn't come from me
or the Bookshare.org team. It comes from you. If you believe in it, we
will build a global library for the print disabled that we can only
begin to imagine today!
Jim Fruchterman
Sarah said:
Everyone would like to make BookShare an international service, but it
can't be done simply by wishing it. It probably can't even be done
simply
by working hard at establishing it. The problem is that copyright law
is
very complicated and is not at all international. BookShare works under
an
exemption in U.S. copyright law, but that law doesn't apply to other
countries. I believe that the only reason NLS can share some of their
books with some people in other countries is the statement you've
probably
heard at the end of recordings that says something like "with kind
permition from the copyright holder".
What often needs to happen are changes to the copyright laws of other
countries and noone here has anything to say about that. I'm sure
you've
observed or heard about attempts to make international agreements and
noticed how dificult and stupid the whole process seems. I can imagine
it
is even harder with an issue like copyright law which is always a fight
because a lot of people don't think we should have the copyright
exemptions
we already have, let alone more extensive ones.
The good thing is that it might be possible to have organizations share
their work sometime in the future If other countries establish services
something like bookshare .
I tried to find the E-mail that was sent to this list explaining the
issues
but I can't find it. I must have lost or deleted it.
Right now I'd like to go scream at some politicians in Australia. I
have
heard before that it was illegal to scan books for yourself there, but
every time I hear it again it makes me mad.
Sarah Van Oosterwijck
Assistive Technology Trainer
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