Latest attack on rights: Don't read aloud!

[windlord]

If you ever though Fahrenheit 451 or 1984 were too excesive, read this: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123419309890963869.html

So, under this, anyone reading aloud a book is infringing on IP?????

PD: There're only three truly infinite things in the universe: greed, stupidity and the universe itself (of this one I'm not certain)

[AYHJA]

Damn, I feel like I've been under a rock, I've never even heard of that device before...Shit, I need to do some research...

[raum]

So, under this, anyone reading aloud a book is infringing on IP?????

NO - SELLING or OFFERING as part of a paid delivery system an audio portrayal of a authors work infringes his right to profit. Most writers make money AFTER the book is sold. Amazon does pay for display rights of the books for Kindel - but NOT for audio rights or film rights. Those rights are all that prevent writers from totally being scammed - like musicians were for decades. If Amazon wants this service for the books you can download to kindel, they should pay for audio rights. - nuff said.

So in summary, reading out loud is ok - making a robot that people can download books into and having it play back audio is not. (there are viable audio/braille formats for the blind, btw... so amazon didn't even try to play that angle.)

[windlord]

NO - SELLING or OFFERING as part of a paid delivery system an audio portrayal of a authors work infringes his right to profit. Most writers make money AFTER the book is sold.

Wrong, on two different points:

- The royalties for book sales are negible. I know, I'm a published technical author, and I have published with my ex wife an history book, as well as other books. I also know some fiction authors: they actually get most of its pay when they sell the book to the publisher, after that... mostly nothing unless you sell a couple hundred thousand books -that might be around 1000$ year.

- There's no derived work being produced, since the device doesn't store the audio -btw have you ever tried a text 2 speech system? it's awful-. And it's intended for the personal space, not for widespread diffusion of spech.

Amazon does pay for display rights of the books for Kindle - but NOT for audio rights or film rights.

Wrong again: Amazon does adquire the rights to be able to publish digitally the book, it dosn't buy display rights. In fact you're buying those rights for your own single copy when you buy a book for kindle.

Those rights are all that prevent writers from totally being scammed - like musicians were for decades. If Amazon wants this service for the books you can download to kindel, they should pay for audio rights. - nuff said.

Wrong again: the only ones that actually receive a considerable ammount of money for those rights, are the publishers because when you sell a book you sell them all rights, all you retain is autorship rights that can't be sold nor transfered.

So in summary, reading out loud is ok

According to the author's guild of america, it's not.