[A2k] Japan has revised copyright law to make alternative formattextbooks for compulsory education available to students withprint disabilities

[Chris Friend]

This is good news and perhaps a model to share around the world as education
text books form a large proportion of the priority essential materials
needed in accessible formats.

Chris Friend
Chair, WBU Copyright and Right to Read Working Group


-----Original Message-----
From: pwd-bounces@wsis-cs.org [mailto:pwd-bounces@wsis-cs.org] On Behalf Of
Hiroshi Kawamura
Sent: 16 October 2008 08:27
To: pwd@wsis-cs.org
Subject: [Pwd] Japan has revised copyright law to make alternative
formattextbooks for compulsory education available to students withprint
disabilities

Dear all:



Effective on 17th September 2008, Japan has revised article 33 of copyright
law as follows:



"Texts and graphics in textbooks shall be copied in formats that are
required by students with disabilities such as visual disabilities,
developmental disabilities, &c."



The translation is not official but my own tentative one. Please note that
the compulsory education in Japan is from 6 to 15 years old.



The producer of alternative format is requested to report to publishers but
no permission of copyright owners is required.



This is an achievement of the long standing effort of Copyright Committee of
the National Association of Disability Organizations for Accessible
Broadcasting chaired by Mr. Yoshiro Inoue, representative of National
Parents Organization of Children with Learning Disabilities, empowered by
the UN CRPD.



The revision of the copyright law opens up an opportunity to distribute
textbooks to print disabled students in full text synchronized DAISY format
or multimedia with sign language, &c. in addition to Braille and large print
that have been permitted.



Regards,



Hiroshi Kawamura

President, DAISY Consortium

hkawa@attglobal.net




______________________________________________________________________
This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System.
For more information please visit http://www.messagelabs.com/email
______________________________________________________________________