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<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=slovering@acb.org href="mailto:slovering@acb.org">Sharon Lovering</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=leadership@acb.org
href="mailto:leadership@acb.org">leadership@acb.org</A> ; <A
title=announce@acb.org href="mailto:announce@acb.org">announce@acb.org</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Monday, January 11, 2010 7:49 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> [leadership] Kindle lawsuit reaches settlement</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">For Immediate
Release</SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT size=4 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"></SPAN></FONT></B> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Contact:</SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Mitch Pomerantz</SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">, President</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">American Council of the
Blind</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">(626) 372-5150
(Cell)</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><A
href="mailto:mitch.pomerantz@earthlink.net">mitch.pomerantz@earthlink.net</A></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Chris Danielsen </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Director of Public
Relations</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">National Federation of the
Blind</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">(410) 659-9314, extension
2330</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">(410) 262-1281
(Cell)</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><A
href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org">cdanielsen@nfb.org</A></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Department of
Justice</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Office of Public
Affairs</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">(202) 514-2007</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Sharon Keeler</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Arizona</SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> </SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">State</SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> </SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">University</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">(480) 965-4012
(Office)</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">(602) 540-8453
(Cell)</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><A
href="mailto:sharon.keeler@asu.edu">sharon.keeler@asu.edu</A></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=MsoNormal align=center><B><FONT size=4
face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"></SPAN></FONT></B> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=MsoNormal align=center><B><FONT size=4
face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"></SPAN></FONT></B> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=MsoNormal align=center><B><FONT size=4
face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Blindness
Organizations and </SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT size=4 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Arizona</SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT
size=4 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">
</SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT size=4 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">State</SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT
size=4 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">
</SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT size=4 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">University</SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=MsoNormal align=center><B><FONT size=4
face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Resolve
Litigation over Kindle</SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">PHOENIX</SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">, </SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">January 11, 2010</SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> –<B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> </SPAN></B>The American Council of the Blind (ACB),
the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), and Arizona State University (ASU),
today announced a settlement agreement resolving litigation filed by NFB and ACB
against the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) and ASU. The lawsuit arose
from the university's participation in a pilot program using the Kindle DX, a
dedicated device for reading electronic books, or e-books, developed by
Amazon.com, Inc. The NFB and ACB alleged that the Kindle DX was
inaccessible to blind students and thus violated federal law. ABOR and ASU
denied and continue to deny any violations of the law. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The settlement agreement among the
parties was reached in light of several factors, including: (1) ASU's commitment
to providing access to all programs and facilities for students with
disabilities, including students who are blind or have low vision; (2) the fact
that the pilot program will end in the spring of 2010; (3) Amazon and others are
making improvements to and progress in the accessibility of e-book readers; and
(4) the university's agreement that should ASU deploy e-book readers in future
classes over the next two years, it will strive to use devices that are
accessible to the blind.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The United States Department of
Justice is also a party to the agreement, which does not involve the payment of
any damages or attorney’s fees or costs.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Marc Maurer, President of the
National Federation of the Blind, said: "The National Federation of the Blind is
pleased with this settlement, which we believe will help to ensure that new
technologies create new opportunities for blind students rather than new
barriers."</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Mitch Pomerantz</SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">, President of the American Council
of the Blind, expressed support by commenting: "I believe this settlement
between </SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Arizona</SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> </SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">State</SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> </SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">University</SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> and the two major national consumer-advocacy
organizations of blind and visually impaired persons will encourage the industry
to develop fully accessible e-book readers in the near
future.”</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=MsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3
face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">###</SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>_______________________________________________<BR>leadership mailing
list<BR>leadership@acb.org<BR>http://www.acb.org/mailman/listinfo/leadership<BR></BODY></HTML>