From: Ann Shumelda Okerson <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 14:41:40 -0400

All:  Please note this *wonderful* and groundbreaking development,
reported below in a message from Stuart Hamilton,  IFLA's policy/advocacy
leader.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Stuart Hamilton <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wed, Jun 26, 2013 at 7:18 AM

Dear Colleagues

Many of you will have already heard but there is some very good news
on our desks this morning – late last night consensus on a text for
the visually impaired was reached at the WIPO Diplomatic Conference in
Marrakech and we do have a treaty! So much hard work has gone into
this moment and all of those involved in Marrakech deserve our
congratulations!

We firmly believe that the treaty will strengthen the international
copyright framework. WIPO Member States have taken an unique and truly
historical step to not only end the book famine but also to
dramatically improve the life opportunities of more than 160 million
print disabled people. The Treaty will help libraries:

·         Meet increasing demand for accessible works to be made
available between countries/communities that share a language, e.g.
Spanish, French, English

·         Support developing economies who cannot afford to produce
resources but could particularly benefit from greater access to
resources made elsewhere in the world

·         Help print-disabled refugees, immigrants and short term
visitors who need to access content made elsewhere, in the context of
greater mobility around the world

·         Protect the rights of rights holders by having a clear
framework in place

·         Increase the overall amount of accessible books and
information and the timeliness of publication

·         Empower people individually to become more effective members
of society with all the well-established spin offs in reducing
poverty, unemployment and crime

A nice video which shows the reactions of delegates is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyjONedOwwY

And here is a piece from IP Watch which explains the situation:

http://www.ip-watch.org/2013/06/26/miracle-in-marrakesh-historic-treaty-for-visually-impaired-agreed/

This is very positive for libraries worldwide. Winston Tabb, Victoria
Owen and Geert Rubens were representing IFLA in Morocco, with Teresa
Hackett representing EIFL and Jonathan Band working on behalf of the
Library Copyright Alliance. Their input has been invaluable to the
delegates as discussions progressed. Many thanks to them!

We will provide a full report in the coming days.

Kind regards,

Stuart

Stuart Hamilton
Director of Policy and Advocacy
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
2509 CH The Hague
Netherlands