WIPO Conference on the Visually Impaired

UNCLAS GENEVA 000728 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR IO, EEB COMMERCE FOR USPTO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON KIPR WIPO SUBJECT: WIPO Conference on the Visually Impaired ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: WIPO held a conference on the morning of July 13 on access to reading material for the visually impaired. END SUMMARY. IMPROVING ACCESS TO COPYRIGHT CONTENT FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED -------------- ¶2. (U) WIPO's July 13 Conference on Improving Access to Copyright Content for the Visually Impaired examined the needs of visually impaired persons (VIP) as they relate to intellectual property (IP), particularly in terms of how to improve timely access to copyright-protected content. Affiliates of the World Blind Union (WBU),certain Member State representatives from Chile, Senegal and Canada, and the WIPO Secretariat participated as panelists. The issue of improving format accessibility to copyright protected content by visually impaired persons emerged in recent meetings of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyrights and Related Rights on behalf of the WBU (an observer to the SCCR) and certain developing countries. The Conference set the stage for more discussions to occur at WIPO and at the national level. ¶3. (SBU) The overall view at the Conference was that the proliferation of digital technologies has added a new dimension to the question of how to maintain a balance between the protection available to right owners, and the needs of reading impaired persons. While the need for cooperative arrangements with publishers has been acknowledged by the blind community and was reiterated at the Conference, the visually impaired seek a binding international instrument exempting some users from liability is necessary to facilitate the movement of certain copyrighted works across borders (NOTE: the U.S. believes that creating such a binding instrument would be premature). It has been noted by the blind community that more than 160 million blind or visually impaired people around the world stand to benefit from a more flexible copyright regime adapted to the technological realities of the day. WIPO to launch new VisionIP website -------------- ¶4. (U) WIPO Director General, Mr. Francis Gurry announced that, in the framework of its visually impaired persons (VIP) initiative (an informal consultation process among the principal VIP stakeholders, including blindness groups, publishers and other copyright owners, and NGOs),WIPO will be launching a website - www.visionip.org - dedicated to attracting support, exchanging views, and disseminating information to all interested parties. The goal of the website is to identify and facilitate practical solutions, such as encouraging the adoption of standardized accessible formats or building "trusted intermediary" relationships between VIP charities and publishers to encourage the production and secure distribution of content in accessible formats. ¶5. (U) In addition, Ambassador Swashpawan Singh, Advisor to Mr. Gurry on the VIP initiative, pointed out that continued progress in this area on special access to copyrighted materials by the blind depends upon the commitment and support of Member States and their ability to consider the interests of all stakeholders. He added that it is clear that without contravening the legitimate interests of right holders, greater quantities of copyright-protected material - both analog and digital -- could be made available in accessible formats and disseminated across multiple jurisdictions in a timely way, to enhance opportunities for the literacy, independence and productivity of VIPs. WIPO's task is to facilitate a process that could lead to the desired outcomes within a reasonable time frame. Open to differing approaches -------------- ¶6. (U) Speaking on behalf of WIPO member states, the Permanent Representative of Chile to WTO, Ambassador Mario Matus; the Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations, Ambassador Babacar Carlos Mbaye; and Mr. Douglas George from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canada; expressed their openness to continuing discussion of the issue, particularly regarding the international exchange of adapted materials across different jurisdictions. Mr. George, in particular, noted that a new copyright exception is not necessary to allow the international exchange of adapted materials. Further, he mentioned that various approaches have been implemented by many countries to address this issue, and that any norm setting should, and must, allow for this a range of approaches. ¶7. (U) Mr. Chris Friend of the World Blind Union (WBU) outlined the needs and expectations of the visually impaired community. He was confident that cooperative efforts between the community and the publishing sector would result in more accessible materials. He underlined that a binding international instrument on the needs of the visually impaired would complement those efforts by ensuring, for instance, the cross-border circulation of books in accessible formats. For example with a binding international treaty, blind readers in 19 countries across Latin America would have access to Braille or audio books produced by the National Organization of the Spanish Blind (ONCE). The Francophone Africans would do the same with the French collections from Canada, France, Belgium and Luxemburg and Switzerland. The Portuguese organizations could share with Brazil, Angola and Mozambique. ¶8. (U) Mr. Herman Spruijt, President, International Publishers Association (IPA) said that the publishing sector was willing to contribute its fair share in finding solutions to the important issue of disability access, and highlighted the complexities of dealing with different needs and interests of multiple stakeholders in a fast-moving stream of technological development. He urged parties to be flexible in achieving a common goal rather than creating an artificial polarization. He commended the consultative approach adopted by WIPO to move forward with the VIP initiative. ¶9. (U) Mr. Dipendra Manocha, Director of the New Delhi-based Regional Resource Centre, Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) Consortium, said that standards were key to developing technology-based solutions to address the problem of disability access. He outlined the work of the Consortium in expanding access to works in accessible formats, particularly in the developing world, where about 90 percent of all VIPs reside. Mr. Manocha said that while thousands of works existed in accessible formats, developing countries had to recreate masters at great expense because libraries in developed countries were unable to share their content with their counterparts in developing countries. He pointed out the need to find policy solutions that would enable the widespread use of the technologies that already exist to facilitate access to works by VIPs. ¶10. (U) All PowerPoint Presentations and audio speeches can be found at: http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/2009/vip_ge/ program.html GRIFFITHS#