[ILUG-Social] Adobe forbids reading aloud

[Tarlach]

Hi,

given the recent discussions on ilug about copyright I though this
was a good example of abuse.

see the last couple of lines of:
http://www.pigdogs.org/art/adobe.jpg

Thanks,
-Tarlach



Forwarded-by: Nev Dull <nev at sleepycat.com>
Forwarded-by: Adam Shand <larry at spack.org>
From: Jon Callas <jon at callas.org>
From: Art Medlar <art at brightmail.com>
Subject: Adobe forbids reading aloud

Glassbook [1] is Adobe's entry into the e-book sweepstakes. Downloading
it, one finds a collection of free (beer) as well as non-free books
available. Each book comes with a set of "permissions" outlining what
may and may not be done with the book. These may be examined using the
Glassbook's Info button.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is available [2]. Copyright expired
who-all-knows how long ago. The etext was originally made freely (speech)
available by Michael Hart at Project Gutenberg. It was reformatted for the
Glassbook reader by VolumeOne (probably not the same organization as is at
www.volumeone.com, but it's hard to tell).

A set of restrictions was attached to the reformatted edition of the book.
One may not copy, print, lend, or give the book away. But best of all, one
is forbidden from reading the book aloud.

A screen shot is here, containing both the standard copyright page (which
explicitly acknowledges the debt to Project Gutenberg) as well as the
"permissions" pop-up information:

  http://www.pigdogs.org/art/adobe.jpg

Adobe replies to queries about the situation like this:

  "Unfortunately, we do not have enough information to correctly
   troubleshoot the issue. Please provide us with an exact copy of any
   errors that you are receiving so that we can properly assist you."

I'm not familiar enough with the DMCA to tell if one of the standard tasks
of parenthood is now a felony.

--art

[1] http://www.glassbook.com/
[2] http://bookstore.glassbook.com/store/product.asp?sku=09767748941

[Editor's note:

I am familiar, and testified to Congress on it.

The short answer is, "no."

A longer answer would be that it would be a felony if you thwarted an
effective technological means of protection. I can't think of anything
that would be considered effective to prevent reading aloud. I'd even be
willing to shout from an e-book in a public place to dare them to get me.

However, a number of us who testified brought up the problem of content
owners trying to get new, absurd rights. This one makes me rub my hands
together with glee. When we talked about all the new, protected abuses the
publishers might come up with, we never thought of this one.

-- jdcc]