Why is it legal for our agency/school to provide scanned books to Bookshare?
Bookshare was founded to promote the sharing of scanned books legally under Section 121 of the copyright code (frequently referred to as the Chafee Amendment) which states that: “… it is not an infringement of copyright for an authorized entity to reproduce or to distribute copies of a previously published, nondramatic literary work if such copies are reproduced or distributed in specialized formats exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities.” Bookshare has worked with the Library of Congress, the Department of Education, Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, the Association of American Publishers, an author’s association, and schools to ensure its operations are completely within the boundaries of this important law that permits accessible materials to be more easily provided to people with bona fide disabilities. The legality question comes in two parts. First, is Bookshare an “authorized entity” under the provisions of Section 121, which provides the copyright
