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Re: PDF on websites + PDF is *not* accessible

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From: Andrew Kirkpatrick
Date: Jul 11, 2013 7:10AM

What Olaf said saves me some typing.

For reference, this is the Adobe-hosted copy: http://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/pdf/pdfs/PDF32000_2008.pdf, which we provide on this page http://www.adobe.com/devnet/pdf/pdf_reference.html

We do provide the text on that page that reads: "This document is an ISO approved copy of the ISO 32000-1 Standards document. By agreement with ISO, Adobe Systems Incorporated is allowed to offer this version of the ISO standard as a free PDF file on their own Web site. It is not an official ISO document but the technical content is identical; the page and section numbers are also preserved."

If you'd like to buy it, you can do so here: http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=51502

Thanks,
AWK

Andrew Kirkpatrick
Group Product Manager, Accessibility
Adobe Systems

<EMAIL REMOVED>
http://twitter.com/awkawk
http://blogs.adobe.com/accessibility


-----Original Message-----
From: <EMAIL REMOVED> [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Olaf Drümmer
Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2013 2:49 AM
To: WebAIM Discussion List
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] PDF on websites + PDF is *not* accessible

Hi Ryan,

this goes back to a special arrangement between Adobe and ISO:
- usually you would have to purchase the PDF standard from ISO and pay for it
- as part of the handing over of the PDF spec to ISO, Adobe retained the right to offer as a free download the very same standard document
- in order to make clear which is which (offered by ISO for a fee vs. offered by Adobe free of charge), a copyright notice is included on the version of the PDF standard offered for download by Adobe
- that copyright notice is for **this specific** version of the standard (ISO most probably insisted on this for formal legal reasons)
- the copyright notice is not for the content / standard as such; this should also become very clear if you read the foreword and introduction.
- in case this hasn't become clear yet: PDF 1.7 as specified in ISO 32000-1 is wholly owned by ISO.

HTH

Olaf


On 11 Jul 2013, at 07:31, Ryan E. Benson < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

>> Acrobat - proprietary application from Adobe Systems PDF - open
>> file-format
>
> However, if you grab a copy of the PDF Standard, at least my copy, has
> the following (c) Adobe Systems. So, if the format was truly open
> wouldn't ISO, AIIM, PDF Association own it, not the proprietary
> company? Seems backwards to me.
>
> --
> Ryan E. Benson
>