RE: PDF Files and Copyright

Hello,
I thought it might be interesting to point out that in the US our copyright
law says that it is not an infringement of copyright law to provide the
published work in an accessible format.  In particular, I am referencing
section 121 which was added to our copyright code in September 1996 under
Public Law 104-197, 110 Stat. 2394, 2416.

This means that even if an organization is publishing in PDF so that it is
not "editable" as mentioned by Mr. Oliver, US law still provides copyright
protection when accessible formats are provided for use by people with
disabilities.  Hence, the argument that a publication must be in PDF to
protect copyright does not have merit when the issue is accessibility.

Best regards,
Cynthia Waddell

---------------------------------------
Cynthia D. Waddell, JD
Metamor
Sr. Consultant
Accessibility Subject Matter Expert
Accessibility Center of Excellence
(800)547-5602 or Fax (919)783-6852

ACE Offices are located at San Jose, CA, Sacramento, CA and Raleigh, NC USA

San Jose Office:
PO BOX 5456
San Jose, California USA 95150-5456
http://www.icdri.org/cynthia_waddell.htm


-----Original Message-----
From: w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org]On
Behalf Of Graham Oliver
Sent: Monday, September 03, 2001 1:48 PM
To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Subject: PDF Files and Copyright


One of the arguments put forward for using PDF files
on web sites is that the content is not 'editable' by
the web site visitor, whereas an HTML page is easily
edited by the web site visitor.
So 'We use PDF files because our information is
copyrighted and we want to protect it' is an argument
put forward.
Is this right?
What are the alternative perspectives?

Cheers
Graham Oliver

=====
'Making on-line information accessible'
Mobile Phone : +64 25 919 724 - New Zealand
Work Phone : +64 9 846 6995 - New Zealand
AIM ID : grahamolivernz

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Received on Tuesday, 4 September 2001 12:39:07 UTC