From: Subbiah Arunachalam <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2012 18:40:31 -0700

Friends:

The Hindu (a leading Indian newspaper published from Chennai and many
other cities) has an editorial on the recent SCCR and the TVI.

http://goo.gl/qpX6q

Editorial
July 28, 2012

Blind to reason

The heavy hand of commerce has dealt a blow to the efforts of blind
and disabled people around the world to get reading materials in
special formats excluded from copyright restrictions. The United
States and the European Union have resisted the move to adopt a
legally binding treaty under the World Intellectual Property
Organisation, aimed at helping the disabled. Such a treaty would
facilitate the creation and international distribution of books for
people with visual impairment, or forms of disability that prevent
them from reading printed text. Books in Braille, electronic text or
audio format could then be produced without copyright restrictions and
shipped to millions of disabled individuals around the world,
particularly in developing countries. Regrettably, the affluent
nations pressed on with their backward looking policy at the 24th
session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights
in Geneva. Under the shadow of lobbies, they have avoided a commitment
to a binding treaty and postponed any progress to the next meeting of
the SCCR. Only after it clears that hurdle can the text be put through
the formal procedures of the WIPO for adoption. This is a
disappointing negation of the provisions of the Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which call upon state parties to
take all measures to provide access to cultural materials in
accessible formats.

For nearly 285 million blind and vision impaired individuals in 190
countries, being able to access books in special formats such as
Braille and audio books is essential for active participation in the
community. India, with a large number of such individuals, has a lot
more to do to make actual materials available, but it has taken the
progressive step of amending its copyright law to allow special format
production for the disabled. It must use its global voice in support
of the developing countries, who look forward to an agreed text at the
WIPO SCCR. That will pave the way for a diplomatic conference to be
held in 2013, and the adoption of the agreement. Unless governments
agree to remove copyright as a barrier to the creation of special
format materials, visually impaired and disabled people will be
prevented from leading rich and satisfying lives. It is shocking that
the fear of marginal loss of revenue for publishers should be allowed
to come in the way of basic human decency. The European Parliament has
already recognised the importance of the proposed WIPO move and
endorsed the call for limitations on copyright to help the blind and
vision impaired; the EU officials, however, ignored that mandate at
Geneva. The U.S. and the EU must stop blocking this path-breaking
treaty.