Seven Point Digital Rights Management Plan

Bookshare makes active efforts to ensure that its collection and its users abide by the law to maximize the benefits realized by the disability community and minimize abuse. Bookshare controls the format of the materials that it provides and ensures the appropriate copyright notices are in its digital publications. Access is restricted to disabled individuals and other authorized entities. Digital rights management helps to ensure that access remains limited to those covered by the copyright law exception.

1. Qualified Users

Only blind or other persons with disabilities that affect their ability to access print are permitted to download copyrighted books. Bookshare eligibility is determined by a competent authority with appropriate expertise who has either evaluated the individual OR has reviewed evaluations that were conducted with the individual by others with appropriate expertise in reading disabilities.

In addition, since any U.S. resident who has previously submitted proof of disability to NLS (National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress) or Learning Ally would qualify under the law, we have cooperative agreements where NLS or Learning Ally will certify to us that he or she has such proof on file already.

2. Contractual Agreement

All Bookshare users have to agree to terms of use that forbid violation of the copyright law restrictions on redistribution and use of copyrighted material. Users who violate these terms will lose their access to Bookshare and may suffer other legal consequences as a result of their actions. Attorneys from the publishing industry had the opportunity to comment on these agreements, and Bookshare made numerous changes in response to their concerns.

3. Copyright Notice

To comply with the copyright law regulating the provision of accessible books to people with disabilities, Bookshare ensures that all copyrighted materials bear a notice that any further reproduction or distribution in a format other than a specialized format is an infringement. Such content includes a copyright notice identifying the copyright owner and the date of the original publication.

In addition, other language reminds users of their obligations to use this material only as permitted by their agreements with Bookshare and the law. It also informs people who are not Bookshare users that their possession of a Bookshare digital book violates the copyright law and that they should erase such a book without using or copying it.

4. Encryption

Bookshare encrypts a requested book for a given user, and the files are delivered through secure/encrypted channels.

5. Fingerprint

All copyrighted material downloaded is fingerprinted as part of the encryption process so that the identity of the authorized user is contained within the decrypted material in a difficult-to-find fashion. This way, if a user illegally redistributes material downloaded from Bookshare, it is possible to confirm both that the materials came from Bookshare and which user was responsible.

6. Security Database

All transactions, encryption codes, and fingerprints are stored in a database enabling Bookshare to track any abuse to the source. For more information on how we use this information, please see our Bookshare privacy policy.

7. Security Watch Program

A security program monitors all transactions and automatically limits any user whose account downloads more than a fixed number of titles in a given month (typically 100 titles). Bookshare regularly searches the web for illegal copies of content originating from Bookshare user downloads and suspends the accounts of users found to have been the source of such content. Bookshare also issues take-down notices to the websites hosting such content.