What are the specifics of the Chafee Amendment?
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How does the Texas Text Exchange legally work?
Prior to September 1996, the creation of e-text from a copyrighted work without the prior written permission of the copyright holder would not be allowed. However, recent changes in the Copyright Act have made this process easier, while adding to the attractiveness of e-text creation. On July 29, 1996, Senator John Chafee proposed an amendment on the Senate floor to make permanent changes to the Copyright Act. The proposed legislation by Senator Chafee was based on an agreement reached by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and the Association of American Publishers (AAP). President Clinton signed the legislation in early September 1996. As a result, the following changes in the copyright law from the Chafee amendment will go into effect:
The permission of publishers or copyright owners is now not required if an authorized entity reproduces or distributes a non-dramatic literary work in a specialized format for the exclusive use of blind persons or others with disabilities.
What am I legally responsible for as a consortium member?
TTE consortium members must establish a procedure of certifying students' legal eligibility to use e-texts and a system of distribution. This system will protect the rights and preferences of publishers and book store operators, while serving the accessibility needs of our students with disabilities.
1. Texts from the TTE may not be used for any commercial purpose.
2. Institutions agree to distribute only to students with disabilities as allowed by law.
3. Institutions assume responsibility for distributing and monitoring student use of e-texts.
An HTML version of the TTE Consortium Member Agreement can be found here.
Who signs the Consortium Member Agreement?
There are several blanks at the end of the Consortium member agreement. Here is a list of them with explanations about what they are:
| 1. Consortium Member Organization Name- | The disability service organization at the institution, for example, Disability Services. In some cases (as in a K-12 school setting), the organization name may be the same as the institution name. |
| 2. Consortium Member Institution Name- | The institutional "owner" of the organization named above, for example, Texas A&M University. In some cases, the institution name may be the same as the organization name. |
| 3. Authorized Signature for the Institution- | A person who can legally bind the the Consortium Member Institution. For example, at TAMU. that person is the Vice President for Finance. |
| 4. Authorized Disability Service Provider- | The person who will have access to the TTE website. This person must be a disability service provider for the Consortium Member organization. |
What are my students legally responsible for when they receive e-texts?
The student must:
- own a hard copy of the book
- be currently registered as a student at the consortium member's institution
- agree not to distribute the e-text files to anyone
- understand that e-text files will only be available during the semester for which they submit a request
- certify that the files are provided at no charge other than through standard university fees
- sign a written agreement to this effect
What is a disability service provider?
A disability service provider ("DSP") is the official representative of the consortium member and is the only person who can access the TTE members only website. This person must be qualified to determine the legal disability status of the student or students for whom e-texts are requested. Generally, this person would be an accommodations counselor, educational diagnostician, adaptive technology specialist, learning disability specialist, special education counselor, special education coordinator or other designated person. Legally, the DSP is the primary staff member that is responsible for the qualification and provision of disability related services to students with disabilities at the consortium member's institution.
What is an authorized entity?
An Authorized Entity means a nonprofit organization or a 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.
What is a specialized format?
Specialized formats means Braille, audio, or digital text which is exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities.
What exactly is "fair use?"
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What does blind or other persons with disabilities mean?
Blind or other persons with disabilities means individuals who are eligible or who may qualify in accordance with the Act entitled "An Act to provide books for the adult blind", 2 USC §135a, approved March 3, 1931 to receive books and other publications produced in specialized formats. The following people are eligible for such services as defined by the Library of Congress:
- Blind person whose visual acuity, as determined by competent authority, is 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting glasses, or whose widest diameter of visual field subtends an angular distance no greater than 20 degrees.
- Persons whose visual disability, with correction and regardless of optical measurement, is certified by competent authority as preventing the reading of standard printed material.
- Persons certified by competent authority as unable to read or unable to use standard printed material as a result of physical limitations.
- Persons certified by competent authority as having a reading disability resulting from organic dysfunction and of sufficient severity to prevent their reading printed material in a normal manner.
What does competent authority mean?
Competent Authority means a certifying individual with proper credentials to diagnose the disability in question as defined in 37 CFR §701.