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