[Nfbf-l] WIPO) reached an agreement to provide wider access to books for the visually impaired

[Alan Dicey]

This morning (WIPO) reached an agreement to provide wider access to books 
for the visually impaired in different countries, a long-pending demand of 
the Perkins community, World Blind Union and activist groups everywhere.

The treaty is expected to be formally adopted in the plenary session
tomorrow, June 27, concluding a conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, where
representatives from more than 180 countries have been in attendance.

Worldwide, less than 1% of all books are accessible for people who are blind
and this month we asked you to get involved.

Dr. W. Aubrey Webson, director of Perkins International celebrates the
treaty. "A key has been turned to open the door to opportunities for persons
who are blind and those with print handicaps. It shows that even a small
group of dedicated persons can change the world and in this case, indeed
they have."

Your voice has been heard. This is the first critical step in solving a
worldwide book famine.

When officially approved tomorrow, the treaty will help aid distribution of
specially formatted books in different countries by removing copyright law
hurdles. For instance, U.S.-based Bookshare, which is an online library for
people with sight disabilities, has about 200,000 books in its collection,
but only about 75,000 of them can be distributed in the U.K. because of
copyright restrictions.

There's a lot of work to do, but this is a big win and a great start. We
couldn't have done this without you.

Thank you,