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The Case for Copyright Exceptions and Fair Use

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

The next time you set your digital device of choice to record your favorite show so you can watch it whenever you want, take a moment to be thankful that you’re protected from lawsuits from the entertainment industry. It affected every step of the evolution of digital media—from the VCR to the digital video recorder to YouTube.

Copyright 196
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Fair Use Victory Advances a Future of Accessibility for All

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

Two days ago, on Tuesday, June 10, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York made a major ruling that emphasizes the legality of fair use for book digitization. copyright law). copyright law). In September 2011, the Authors Guild sued the HathiTrust, alleging massive copyright violations. In Authors Guild v.

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Advancing Reading Equality with Bookshare’s Exponential Growth

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

I’m thrilled to share with you some of the recent amazing impact of Bookshare , a Benetech Global Literacy initiative and the largest accessible online library of copyrighted content for people with print disabilities. a11y accessibility Bookshare Braille DAISY ebooks Global Literacy print disabilities Reading'

Literacy 129
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Bookshare without Borders: #1/3

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

Bookshare , our flagship literacy program, is the world’s largest accessible library and currently serves more than 230,000 members with visual and learning disabilities. But this is just the tip of the iceberg, as literacy remains an elusive dream for the majority of the world’s people with print disabilities.

India 225
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Bringing Millions of Books to Billions of People: Making the Book Truly Accessible

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

Literacy and access to knowledge underpins just about every social good, from education, to economic development, to health, to women’s empowerment, democracy and respect for human rights. I believe it is a combination of copyright exceptions and business model innovations. I believe in the power of books to change the world.

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Accessibility Excitement in Geneva

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

Even though Benetech doesn’t have donor funding for this, our VP of Global Literacy, Betsy Beaumon, and I thought it would be worthwhile to attend this meeting. Getting some kind of licensing deal is critically important, because it will take many years for the Marrakesh Treaty to be fully implemented with its copyright exceptions.

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I Need a Good Lawyer

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

We’re operating at the forefront of copyright limitations and exceptions, both in the United States and globally. The recent Indian copyright amendment that creates an exception similar to Section 121 in the United States, which makes it possible for us to set up a Bookshare-style crowd-sourced library in India with local partner NGOs.