[Nfb-idaho] Fw: [State-affiliate-leadership-list] FW: [tvi-discuss] WBU statementon this WIPO meeting 18-20 April

Sun Apr 21 15:48:16 UTC 2013

The press release included here is a simple summary of work being done for 
international access to books for the blind.  I think you will find it 
interesting and good background for when we need to take action.

Ramona
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Scott C. LaBarre" <slabarre at labarrelaw.com>
To: "State Affiliate Leadership List" 
<state-affiliate-leadership-list at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, April 20, 2013 11:41 PM
Subject: [State-affiliate-leadership-list] FW: [tvi-discuss] WBU statementon 
this WIPO meeting 18-20 April

> Greetings, Fred Schroeder and I have been here in Geneva working on this
> international treaty proposal.  Attached and pasted below is the press
> release from the WBU that we drafted today.  Soon we will need  our 
> members
> to contact their senators to help us put pressure on the U.S. government
> which is getting enormous pressure from rights holders to kill this 
> proposal
> or make it so convoluted that it will be unuseful to us.
>
> WORLD BLIND UNION (WBU) press release 20th April 2013
>
>
> Press Release - WIPO Negotiations Treaty for Blind people
>
> A treaty for the blind or for the rights holders?
>
> Geneva, 20.04.2013 - A four and a half year UN negotiation on a new World
> Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) treaty for people who are blind 
> or
> have other print disabilities is in danger of delivering either a hollow,
> "trophy treaty" or no treaty at all.
>
> WBU delegates attended the negotiations which took place between 18th and
> 20th April in Geneva.
>
> WBU said that the three days of discussion at WIPO this April have 
> continued
> in the same vein as the five days of negotiations in February this year. 
> The
> negotiators have worked almost exclusively on wording to reaffirm 
> copyright
> protections that already exist in international copyright instruments; and
> have devoted almost no time to insuring that the treaty will encourage the
> cross border sharing of desperately needed books for the blind.
>
> Fred Schroeder, First Vice President of the World Blind Union, said:
>
> "The purpose of this treaty is to ensure access to books for blind people
> and help end the "book famine" we face. WBU is alarmed that some of the
> negotiators have focused their efforts almost exclusively on crafting
> language around copyright protections that have nothing to do with the
> ability of authorized entities to produce books for the blind and visually
> impaired. The shift away from a treaty for the blind to a treaty focussed 
> on
> rights holder protections has taken up precious negotiating time which
> should be directed at ensuring a treaty that makes it possible for 
> materials
> to be shared internationally. For example the negotiators have spent
> considerable time talking about the concept of commercial availability 
> when,
> in practice, there is no reason why an authorized entity would spend its
> limited resources to duplicate works in formats that already exist.
> Nevertheless, the introduction of concepts like commercial availability
> creates new complexities that detract from the treaty's true purpose".
> There are now just two weeks of negotiations available to restore the 
> treaty
> to one of creating a law to enable international sharing of materials for
> the blind when the two-week "Diplomatic Conference" in Marrakech, Morocco,
> meets in the last two weeks of June 2013.
>
> Maryanne Diamond, Chair of the World Blind Union's Right to Read Campaign,
> commented:
>
> "WBU appreciates the efforts of many negotiators to find text that will 
> work
> for blind people. When they meet in Marrakech, governments must finally
> seize this historic opportunity to ensure a treaty that is "fit for 
> purpose"
> so that blind people can really get access to books in accessible 
> formats."
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Background
>
> An end to the "book famine"
>
> Even in 2013, blind people and others living with a print disability such 
> as
> those with dyslexia still have very limited access to books. Only some 7% 
> of
> published books are ever made accessible (in formats such as Braille, 
> audio
> and large print) in the richest countries, and less than 1% in poorer 
> ones.
> This is a "book famine".
>
> An international treaty for blind people
>
> The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) makes treaties and 
> other
> international laws on copyright
>
> Back in 2009 the World Blind Union, Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay proposed 
> a
> WIPO treaty to help relieve the book famine in which fewer than 1% of 
> books
> are published accessibly in developing countries, and only some 7% in the
> most developed.
>
> Briefly, the new treaty would:
>
> Allow specialist organisations to make accessible copies of books in all
> signatory countries
> Make it legal to send accessible books across national borders
> Still respect copyright law: it is not an attack on publishers!
> Make more books available for blind people
>
> About WBU
>
> The World Blind Union (WBU) is the internationally recognized 
> organization,
> representing the 285 million blind and partially sighted persons in 190
> member countries.  We are the Voice of the Blind, speaking to governments
> and international bodies on issues concerning blindness and visual
> impairments in conjunction with our members. For further information, 
> please
> visit:
>
> www.worldblindunion.org
>
> Contacts
>
> Fred Schroeder, First Vice President, World Blind Union
> fschroeder at sks.com
>
> Maryanne Diamond
> Maryanne.Diamond at visionaustralia.org
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: tvi-discuss [mailto:tvi-discuss-bounces at lists.keionline.org] On 
> Behalf
> Of Pescod, Dan
> Sent: Saturday, April 20, 2013 9:32 AM
> To: Tvi
> Subject: [tvi-discuss] WBU statement on this WIPO meeting 18-20 April
>
> Dan Pescod
> WBU
>
>
>
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