If you’re reading this article out to someone else in your vicinity, you could be breaking the law. These words belong to Blorge, so how dare you read them aloud to someone. Clearly I don’t actually believe this, but it’s the logical conclusion to draw from the Authors Guild’s reaction to the new Amazon Kindle 2.

The Kindle 2 was launched on Feb. 9 by Amazon, with a little help from Stephen King. This sequel to the e-retailer’s original e-book reader is thinner, has a bigger memory, and some snazzy new features sure to put it at the top of most geek’s shopping lists.

One of these new features is a text-to-speech translator called ‘Read-to-me’. This experimental add-on sees the e-books in your Kindle read to you in a computerized voice. The main use for this feature is for people who spend a lot of time driving, but it could also be useful for the visually impaired or just sheer lazy amongst us.

While the robotic Kindle 2 voice is hardly the same as having the author reading the book to you, as is the case with most audio books, it is at least a good feature to have, and one that could be expanded upon/upgraded in the future. But not everyone is happy with ‘Read-to-me’.

Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild told The Wall Street Journal, “They don’t have the right to read a book out loud. That’s an audio right, which is derivative under copyright law.”

I’m sorry, but what? Reading a book out loud is subject to copyright law? That means that not only is every piece of text-to-speech software is illegal, but each and every one of us is a law breaker many times over. And what about your mom and dad when they read stories to you at bedtime – they should be arrested for their crimes against humanity.

CNet spoke to a copyright attorney who explained that the law isn’t cut and dried. It all depends on whether the text-to-speech could be classified as a public performance. While Jonathan Zittrain, a professor at Harvard Law School, told them that as long as no recorded copy of the book is made then Amazon is in the clear.

I never thought I’d see an industry conjure up a less credible argument than the ones created and argued by the music industry over the past few years. But the Authors Guild has somehow managed it.

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Entry was posted on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 at 4:05 pm under Legal, Opinion, Technology.

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