National Federation of the Blind Seeks to Join HathiTrust Defendants

The National Federation of the Blind has asked a federal court to add it to the defendants named in a lawsuit brought by the Authors Guild and others against the HathiTrust digital repository and five universities. In its filing, the federation invoked the principle of equal access to information guaranteed by the Americans With Disabilities Act. The federation said the rights of the blind people it represents would be obstructed if the plaintiffs in the case succeeded in impounding the digital works in the trust and in preventing further digital scanning of copyrighted material.