To whom do the books belong?
Friday, 29 May 2009 | 17:06
The US, UK, EU, Canada, & Australia delegations at a World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) meeting in Geneva are currently attempting to block discussion of a treaty introduced by Brazil (and a few other South American countries) permitting certain exceptions from some copyright law for persons who are blind or who have other reading disabilities.
“The proposal for a treaty is supported by a large number of civil society NGOs, the World Blind Union, the National Federation of the Blind in the US, the International DAISY Consortium, Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D), Bookshare.Org, and groups representing persons with reading disabilities all around the world.
The main aim of the treaty is to allow the cross-border import and export of digital copies of books and other copyrighted works in formats that are accessible to persons who are blind, visually impaired, dyslexic or have other reading disabilities, using special devices that present text as refreshable braille, computer generated text to speech, or large type. These works, which are expensive to make, are typically created under national exceptions to copyright law that are specifically written to benefit persons with disabilities…
The opposition from the United States and other high income countries is due to intense lobbying from a large group of publishers that oppose a “paradigm shift,” where treaties would protect consumer interests, rather than expand rights for copyright owners.”
Please visit the above link and take appropriate action. Market share and profit increases vs. the rights of all people – regardless of ability – to access the information, wonder, and delicious beauty contained in written works. You decide which side you’re on.
Story via BoingBoing, excerpt from a2kbrasil.org.
