1.
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Maureen Watts
503-922-0778
mwatts@readhowyouwant.com
ReadHowYouWant Meets Publishers’ Concerns Over Proposed WIPO
Expansion with Market‐Based Model that Pays Publishers for Braille and
DAISY Books
Sydney, Australia, December 16, 2009—Amidst outcries from publishers
(http://www.artsjournal.com/artsjournal1/2009/12/publishers_prot.shtml) regarding the proposed
expansion of the WIPO treaty which would allow free access to copyrighted books by the blind
or others who have reading disabilities, accessible publishing innovator ReadHowYouWant is
pioneering a new model that makes it easy for publishers to service the reading impaired and
comply with most disabilities requirements worldwideand get paid for the sale of each
accessible edition of their copyrighted books.
After four years of research and development in Australia, ReadHowYouWant began exporting
its accessible format conversion services and partnering with U.S. publishers in 2007. The
Sydney start-up’s award-winning conversion technology repurposes books into high-quality
alternative formats, including 16 to 24 point EasyRead™ large print, braille, e-books, synthesized
audio MP3, and DAISY—a talking book format that produces audio along with the written text.
ReadHowYouWant has over 70 publisher partners in the U.S. and Australia who are receiving
regular royalty payments on sales of the accessible editions created by ReadHowYouWant and
sold online at www.readhowyouwant.com among other sites. “ReadHowYouWant has made it
possible to provide our content in accessible formats. They have come up with a terrific business
model that truly works for all," says Maria Jesus Aguilo, Director of Subsidiary Rights for
Berrett-Koehler, one of the first publishers to partner with ReadHowYouWant.
Many publishers have not yet embraced the Sydney start-up’s new business model for creating
and marketing accessible editions. This fact remains a mystery to ReadHowYouWant CEO
Tricia Roth. “We clear all the rights with the publishers and do all the work of converting and
marketing the books. There is no risk for publishers and they can realize additional streams of
revenue in this growing market,” says Roth.
4737 SE Mitchell St. office: 503-922-0778
Portland, OR mwatts@readhowyouwant.com
97206 www.readhowyouwant.com
2.
Twenty million middle aged or older Americans report some form of visual impairment even
when wearing glasses in 2010 (Lighthouse International). Vision problems affect 25% of school
age children 6-17 years old (Research to Prevent Blindness). Less than five per cent of all books
are converted into accessible formats and readily available for blind and print disabled readers.
Roth explains that the current model for providing accessible formats places an undue burden on
educational institutions and charitable organizations that fund the conversion of books. A
market-based model that provides benefits to publishers, charitable organizations, educational
institutions and most importantly to blind and print disabled readers will insure that more content
is made accessible at the time of publication. “It is time to level the playing field for blind and
print disabled readers—technology allows content to be made accessible quickly and cost
effectively—publishers need to support this new model or find themselves facing increasing
regulation aimed at righting this basic inequity.”
ReadHowYouWant works closely with its publisher partners for simultaneous release of their
new books, and has recently published accessible editions of two popular Oprah summer read
picks One D.O.A. One On The Way by Mary Robison (Counterpoint Press) and The Heyday of
the Insensitive Bastards: Stories by Robert Boswell (Graywolf Press), as well as the New York
Times bestseller, Excuses Begone by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer (Hay House). For more information,
visit www.readhowyouwant.com.
About ReadHowYouWant
ReadHowYouWant Pty Ltd and its R&D parent company, Accessible Publishing Systems Pty
Ltd, are both Sydney, Australia-based privately held companies co-founded in 2004 by electronic
publishing pioneers Christopher Stephen and Greg Duncan. When Chris’ sister, who suffers from
MS, developed difficulty reading, they began experimenting to determine whether people with
reading difficulties could benefit from changing the text format.
After more than four years of testing, ReadHowYouWant has successfully developed award-
winning conversion technology that reformats existing books into the widest selection of on-
demand, alternative format editions on the market today. Each edition has been optimized for
maximum readability. The company’s goals are to make reading easier and more enjoyable by
delivering formats that suit the reader and to give people with reading difficulties access to books
in the formats of their choice—at an affordable price, and as soon as the book is published. For
more information visit www.readhowyouwant.com.
4737 SE Mitchell St. office: 503-922-0778
Portland, OR mwatts@readhowyouwant.com
97206 www.readhowyouwant.com
