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Thread: Major Lawsuit that Helps Accessibility
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From: The Snider's Web
Date: Thu, Oct 11 2012 4:27PM
Subject: Major Lawsuit that Helps Accessibility
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Apologies if this has already been posted, but the library and
archives world is buzzing today...We are thrilled!
The HathiTrust Decision came down and it applies to people with
disabilities. This is huge. I can only hope that Canada learns from this one...
http://copyright.syr.edu/hathitrust-decision-summary/
Posted on Thursday, October 11th, 2012 @ 2:24 PM by Dr. K. Matthew Dames
Court Rules Americans With Disabilities Act Allows Libraries to Make
Copies to Serve Persons With Disabilities
<http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/121>;Section 121 of the
Copyright Act allows an "authorized entity" to reproduce or
distribute copies of certain protected works in specialized formats
so those with vision or other impairments can use them. The Act
defines an "authorized entity" as a nonprofit organization or
governmental agency "that has a primary mission to provide
specialized services relating to training, education, or adaptive
reading or information access needs of blind or other persons with
disabilities."
There has been a longstanding question whether college and university
libraries qualify as an "authorized entity" pursuant to the
definition in Section 121. The Court resolved this question,
answering affirmatively. "The ADA requires that libraries of
educational institutions have a primary mission to reproduce and
distribute their collections to print-disabled individuals, making
each library a potential "authorized entity" under [Section 121],"
wrote Judge Baer. "The provision of access to previously published
non-dramatic literary works within the HDL fits squarely within
[Section 121], although Defendants may certainly rely on fair use, as
explained above, to justify copies made outside of these categories
or in the event that they are not authorized entities."