If you are at all interested in tech gadgets, you have by now heard of Amazon’s Kindle, a devise for reading electronic books (or e-books). The Kindle is essentially an iPod for book readers, allowing users to download and store multiple e-books on a mobile devise. Originally launched in November 2007, Amazon released the newest version last month (at the hefty price of $359). This new version includes a function that enables the e-book to be read aloud; thus, turning your e-book into an audio book.
This “read aloud” function caught the attention of the Authors Guild which demanded that it be disabled. Amazon rightly argued that the feature did not violate any of the exclusive rights granted by copyright law to the copyright owners. (Imagine if you had to send royalty payments for reading bedtime stories to your kids.) Not in the mood for a fight, Amazon has nevertheless caved in. Publishers now get to decide whether or not their books sold for Kindle will permit the “read aloud” function – even for public domain books.
This is an unfortunate loss for consumers.
–Matt
