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The Case for Copyright Exceptions and Fair Use

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

For on January 17, 1984, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that consumers could tape their favorite TV shows and watch them later without the copyright holder’s consent. 417 (1984), also known as the “ Betamax case ”, is a landmark copyright precedent that has had enormous implications for the media economy. of America v.

Copyright 196
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Bringing Millions of Books to Billions of People: Making the Book Truly Accessible

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

The miracle of ebooks What if we had the ability to overcome these accessibility barriers, barriers that affect most of humanity, not just people with identified disabilities, wouldn’t we have the moral obligation to act? We can use the same ebook file to deliver the content ten different ways. We can do better!

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Receiving the 2013 Migel Medal

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

I remember the day I told my wife, Virginia, that I’d do this “nonprofit thing” for just one year and then go back to regular for-profit high tech companies. And when the idea of a peer-to-peer ebook library came to me, it was George who I went to with the idea. That was over 24 years ago! We hope you’ll join us on this journey.

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Tribute to My Mentor

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

When I explained that our board just didn’t see manufacturing reading machines for the blind making financial sense for a for-profit company, Gerry said “How about you set up a deliberately nonprofit tech company?” What if we could scan once, proofread the resulting scan, and share that ebook with tens of thousands of eager readers?

Mentoring 167
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Accessible eBooks for Equal Opportunity

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

Accessible ebooks and Bookshare have helped sixth grader Kevin Leong overcome his reading challenges. The Bookshare library is made possible by a copyright exception: Section 121 of the United States Copyright Act, also known as the Chafee Amendment. The good news is that major changes in technology are reforming education.

eBook 203
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Benetech’s Framework for Developing New Social Enterprises

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

Digital and mobile communications are changing the rules about social networks, intellectual property, and the availability of big data, with an overall blurring of the boundaries between state, for-profits, and nonprofits. At Benetech, we look to fill the gap between what’s possible and what’s profitable with technology.

Develop 144
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10X: CEO’s Update: Spring 2014

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

I have disruptive approaches to social innovation in mind, with an increasingly connected society where the cost of prototyping and deploying new products is extremely low, and where innovation is no longer the sole purview of well-funded for-profit corporations. We deliver philanthropic donors exciting returns on their investments (i.e.,

Literacy 158